Unexpected alliances
by TiLiYu
Summary: When you want Conan and Kaitou Kid to work together, kidnapping Aoko is a good idea... And the more, the merrier ! Heiji and Hakuba are also coming to help, to what will turn out to be a fight to death against the Black Organization... Will the Gosho Boys and their allies be able to win ?
1. Heist Arc - Chapter 1 - Busted

**To introduce a bit this story, I used the manga basis (careful of spoilers if you're afraid of them) and went according to my imagination.**

**The main characters will be Conan and Heiji, co-main will be Kaito and Saguru. I'll stick to canon (or almost canon) pairings.**

**The first arc of this story is already pretty much written but I plan to continue after publishing this part.**

**As you may see, I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologize in advance for the mistakes you may spot...**

**The two first chapters are a bit "wild" but it'll get tamer after ; )**

**Have fun reading and thanks for visiting ! ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 1 : Busted**

* * *

"- Come on, once again, where is it?" Vodka asked with a menacing glare to the pretty battered man lying in front of him.

" - I'll ... enjoy from hell ... the sight of you all being pissed... because of me..." he answered, breathing heavily .

"- Then blame only yourself for being a stupid man...", Gin said, "... and see you in hell."

The sound of the gunshot echoed through the abandoned building and the middle aged man's hard breathing stopped, his head falling on his shoulder.

"- Let's get out of here", ordered Gin while walking towards the exit

"- But what do we do of him, Aniki ? And how do we find It now ?

\- Never mind that guy, this place is supposed to be demolished in two days, no one will ever find him. As to "it", we had a plan B... speaking of the Devil", said the long haired man, taking out his phone.

"- Yea ?

\- Did you got anything from our friend about the card ?" said the warm voice of Vermouth

"- Nope, he decided he preferred to be buried with his damn secret...

\- Or you and your brute were maybe a bit too harsh about the questioning ?" she smirked

"- At least we do something more for the Boss than just hanging around in frilly disguises...

\- Well those FRILLY disguises did more than your gun today it seems, I got the card location.

\- ...", he paused, impressed reluctantly at the disguise master. "Where ?

\- It won't be easy, it looks like hiding the company's information in jewellery for our lil' exchanges with foreign subsidiaries wasn't a good idea after all, have fun remind that fact to Bourbon...

\- Yea, I will do that... ", he said with a vicious grin.

"- So the bracelet with the card ended in the hands of a famous songstress, as a gift from a devoted anonymous fan.

\- Already sounds annoying.

\- _Cherry on the cake_, the girl is followed 24/7 by paparazzo's, when she's not on stage and doesn't leave her new favourite accessory...

\- ... you said that word on purpose, right ?

\- Don't be pissed at me, my dear, if you have things to settle with your former girlfriend, you shouldn't involve other people", she teased him.

"- I will so much kill you once the Boss won't so fond of you anymore..." he growled with a threatening tone.

"- Keep the sweet talk for later, you got a new mission, from Him.

\- Spit it.

\- We arranged you a date, with some old acquaintances, specialized in hunting the best Jewel Thief in Japan. They probably can get us some hints to find a leverage and get him to work for us.

\- The ones who after the Kid ? You mean I got to work with the goofies believing in eternal youth thanks to a stone ?

\- Exactly... Though, as much of a myth it may seem, eternal youth was a common goal before our companies split off... We just decided that it was safer to trust drugs and sciences than doublet jewels and full moon folktales...

\- For eternal youth, you seem to prefer make up, oldie.

\- Could do you some good, to hide that love wound under the eye your "Koibito" gave you.

\- Enough of that... Send me date and place through mail", he answered while hanging up angrily.

" Fucking annoying woman...", Gin thought, pocketing his phone.

He couldn't understand Boss' decision to protect her... She was so full of herself, liked to piss everyone by pressing their buttons and was too much of a freelancer for the sake of the Company. If one day he just could...

* * *

"- Kaito !" Aoko exclaimed while having her skirt once again flipped by a certain self-declared amazing magician.

"- Fishes ? Are you trying to kill me, Aoko ?" Kuroba couldn't refrain a chill at the panties' sight.

"- Revenge !" She laughed.

"- Oh that's pretty low of..."

"- SILENCE !" the teacher roared. "This is school and we're in a middle of a lesson so will you please sit down and listen ! "

Kaito and Aoko exchanged a "that's your fault" look before calming down.

Kuroba let his mind wander once more, trying to replace the little uneasy feeling he was having since the previous day. He couldn't see who but he felt like being watched, all his "kaitou" senses were on alert. He was used to Hakuba's eyes right on his neck but there hadn't be any hostile intents in that look. Maybe sometimes annoyance... well a lot of time, it was so fun and easy to tease him ! But it was nothing compared to that heavy sensation he was having just now. He hadn't Akako's foretelling gift but at least he could tell something bad was coming right at him and he didn't like the thought.

* * *

Amuro let his goggles off his eyes to rub them and bit into a sandwich. He adjusted his ear plug to hear the 2 men conversing.

"- Hey, Jii-chan, how are you doing ? Aren't you supposed to have customers in here ?

\- It's only 4 pm, Kaito-bochama, still 2 hours to go before Blue Parrot's opening, remember ?

\- Just you and me then ! Can I have a double choco ?

\- This is not a fancy Gelateria you know... "

_"How long will I have to watch that selfish child ? "_

The agent could still remember Gin's voice 2 days ago : "You screwed up, go and find a way to clean your mess, Mr Useless detective"

So he had to work from the only intel Gin could get from their "sister" organization. The first bit was that the Kid was a man named Kuroba Tôichi. The second part was that they tried to kill him 8 years ago and thought for a while they succeeded, the fact that the man never reappeared after seemed to confirm it . But 6 months ago, Kid showed off once again, looking exactly the same, from the disguise mastering to the childish games with the police, and the arrogance of a man sure of his skills. Of course, Kuroba was still nowhere to be found but, after a murder attempt, who wouldn't hide ? The second possibility was that the man was really dead and someone else took up the torch.

Bourbon decided to follow the Kuroba's trail. The only visible link to him was his son, a 16 year old boy apparently fond of pranks and magic tricks, like father, like son they say. In spite of better tracks, Bourbon decided to follow the teen, maybe he was still in touch with his father. He left a few bugs, in his home, at school and at a bar the kid seemed to like to kill some time. As a detective, tailing someone was a second nature, he was indeed the man of the situation, even if it seemed to have no use at the moment.

"- By the way, I had the improvement you requested on the gun", the old man said.

Amuro jumped to his goggles once again. A gun ? To an underage ? In Japan ? THAT was suspicious.

"- Ah good", the teen thanked.

He raised the gun to his eyes level and pulled the trigger. A card appeared in a faint "plop" and stuck right into the dart board on the opposite wall.

"- Push the button on the side of the grip to make it explode at will"

Kaito pushed the said button and the card disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"- Not bad", he smiled, "please give my thanks to your technician !"

Bourbon's jaw dropped. A card gun ? Only one person in Japan had a weapon like that... How ridiculous was his luck to find Kid's heir in such a short time ? How could that cop in charge of Kid's investigation miss the fact that his nemesis was the boy next door, the very one who was fooling around with his own daughter? He still had one check to perform but then...

He smiled to himself : a leverage for a teenage boy wasn't hard to imagine and, after a 2-days watch, he just knew exactly where to find one.


	2. Heist Arc - Chapter 2 - The heist

**Hi there, it's me again ! **

**I decided to publish those 2 chapters at the same time, since they are the introduction of the whole story.  
**

**Have fun reading and thanks for coming ! **

* * *

**Chapter 2 : The heist **

* * *

"- Oï oï, what are you implying, Jodie-sensei ?" the pint sized bespectacled detective asked. "Sensitive information "?

\- That's exactly what I said. Kir was categorical about that, we're speaking about really important data about the Company here..." the FBI agent explained." But the whole thing is turning into a Kid's heist and since you're quite gifted to plan his every move, we thought you may be able to get your hands on it..."

Conan looked through Kogoro's office window, trying to calm himself and not to get too much excited about what he was hearing. He knew that a call from Jodie so late at night was probably worth it but to that extend ? What if the Organization members' names were on that card ? Or the APTX 4869 formula maybe ? That could mean...

"- Are you listening, Cool kid ?" The woman's voice got Conan out of his day-dreaming

"- Yes, I'm still here. Of course I'm in, but one condition : I need to have access to those data. First. Before anyone could mess up with anything important.

\- I got to check with James but you can see that as granted, with everything you've done for us.

\- I let you fill me with the details through mail ?

\- Sending one right now... The owner is Yuki Haruno, a songstress. She'll be giving a live in Osaka's Koshien in 2 days, so we think the heist will probably happen there, with the crowd and the wide space, but we still have to decipher Kid's little riddle..."

Conan took a deep breath to process the information he was just being given. It's was the first time in a while he could really come close to the Organization and he couldn't help wishing all his problems could be solved by the small card attached to the piece of jewelry.

_"Wait, did Jodie said Osaka ? "_

Guess it was time to call that dark-skinned detective then. Two detectives for one thief would be a piece of cake !

* * *

"- We'll be heading to our seats", Kazuha said, "you know where to find us.

\- Conan-kun, I know you enjoy Kid's heists but try not to annoy Hattori-san or the police.

\- Of course Ran-neechan !" the small detective assured with a childish voice, while Heiji smirked at him.

"- You sure you'll take him with you ?

\- No worries, nee-chan, K.. Conan-kun'll be safe w'th me ! "he answered while ruffling the boy's hair. An' th'is a Kid's heist after all, "no one gets hurt" seems ta be the absolute rul'."

The 2 detectives watched both girls go away, losing sight of them in the heavy crowd.

Conan's "family" arrived just after midday in Osaka and the teens could find some free time to discuss about the case and finish cracking the code while the girls were gossiping. Kazuha and Ran also got some seats for the live, Haruno AND the Kid's heist was pretty much something to see. Judging by the impressive crowd that night, they weren't the only ones thinking that.

"- So, according to the note, we have 1 hour left before the heist.

\- An' w'th so many people here, won't be possible ta spot him b'fore he gets 'n his shiny suit...

\- Well, let him do the work for us, he was nice enough to put his escape route on the invitation so let's head there" Conan said, his look turning to the nearby high building with a "hospital" sign.

* * *

"- Don' ya th'nk this heist lacks o' Kid's usual "panache" ?" Heiji asked while climbing the emergency stairs up to the hospital's roof.

"- Hmm, yea, I also feel something is missing in there : the note was pretty short and obvious, looked a bit precipitated. It's somehow missing the Kid's sophistication, seems more like a banal robbery, glider excluded... " Conan looked at his friend with a ironic smile : "Don't we sound like 2 fangirls disappointed in their idol doing an half-assed performance ?

\- Fangirl ? Ya maybe but don' count me in ! It would just upset my competit've sense if we'r' able ta catch th't Thief so easily...

\- I'm not going to complain, as I'm really interested in succeeding this time..."

Conan stopped as they reached the roof to focus his glasses on the stage. The songstress was just starting, there should be 30 minutes before her song with pyrotechnics, during which the Kid was supposed to appear.

"- Ok, are you ready for the show Akai ?" he asked through the glasses' mike.

"- Got a nice spot, I could work on making you a new haircut from there.

\- Please refrain from doing that... I trust your sniper skills, no need for a demo and I like my hair like that.

\- And Kudô-san would be quite mad at me I guess... How scary can be your mother ?

\- To the point of kidnapping me, drugging me, tying me and pointing false guns at my head, just to check if I'm big enough to look after myself ? So try to figure what she'll do if you harm her son ?

\- Wow, remind me not to annoy her...

\- Kudô, glad ta hear yar mother is as sane as mine but anythin' new ? I only hav' one side of yar lil' chat here...

\- Nope, nothing, unless you're in Jpop music... Oh, by the way, almost forgot, got you my spare glasses, so we'll be able to communicate if we get separated." Conan gave to him a pair of glasses similar to his. "And you'll have the other side of the line.

\- Do I get the nighty vision zoomy pack ? " Heiji asked, putting the glasses on his nose.

"- Nope, sorry ! There are less options on the spare, I'm the one on watch tonight."

* * *

"- It's funny how Nakamori-Keibu always ends looking ridiculous in Kid's heists...

\- What's happenin' ?

\- He did try to pinch the songstress' cheek, it looks like he thought it was a disguise... He's now struggling to get out of a pile which seems to be Yuki's bodyguards... uh, they look heavy, at least 5 of them", Conan chuckled.

"- He som'times reminds me o' Mouri-san... Hard ta take th'm seriously when ya see th'm at work... Mouri-san looks m're impressive when he's asleep an' ya solve the cases fer him than awake ! Ya lucky yar wife didn't get his brain...

\- She's not my... ", The boy blushed.

"- Yea an' nothin' happened in London, right ?" Heiji smirked.

"- Look who's talking... Do I have to remind you a certain osakan bridge ?" Conan smiled at the osakan's blush, evident even on his dark skin, then came back to his watch. "Ok, less chit-chat, bracelet gone, we should see Kid pretty soon, look for it.

\- Aye sir ! "

And indeed, a white triangular shape was heading right to them.

* * *

"- Tantei-kun, Tantei-han, fancy seeing you both here", the white thief said with a small bow. " I apologize for my rudeness but I won't be able to entertain you as much as I'd like to tonight, as I must recover what has been stolen to me.

\- Stolen ? Since when are you the one stolen ? Would be a first", Conan snorted.

"- Alas my little friend, I also have the greatest displeasure being on this side on the theft. I dare think you also came to that roof because of the invitation card ?

\- Ya nailed it... "Also" ? What d'ya mean ? Ya didn't write that ?

\- Nope, I was only supposed to follow the instructions and it led me here, with that little bit of jewellery", the Kid stated, playing with the bracelet in his hands.

Conan watched the precious item and saw a red glimmer moving on Kid's vest.

"- Then who ... Oï, snipers, everyone down ! " Conan shouted.

The 2 teens followed the order and flattened against the floor without a second though, hearing one shot which was without a doubt destined to the Thief.

"- Wher's it comin' from, Kudô ?

\- Opposite side of the stadium... Akaï, do you copy ?

\- Yea, I'm looking for our trigger happy friend, one sec'... Bad news, looks like the Organization also followed the trail of the jewel, I just spotted Korn and the guy isn't smart enough to work on his own.

\- Crap..." the west detective swore.

"- Ok, neutralized him, I'm calling some reinforcements, I wouldn't be surprised to see some more ravens.

\- You can go up, our guardian angel did some cleaning", said the child detective to the Thief. " Since when are you a magnet for the Black Organization, Kid ?

\- Black Organization ? Never heard of them... " he answered while getting up. "Thank you by the way, it seems like they wanted to steal a bit more from me than they already have and I must say I'm pretty attached to my own life and I'd like to keep it as long as possible.

\- What did they took fr'm ya ?" inquired Heiji while removing the dust on his pants.

"- A precious fr... " he started.

Both detectives watched him fall on the floor, like in slow motion, while the perfectly white vest was slowly tainted in red by the thief's blood. Heiji grabbed his arm to get him out of the shooting line until he felt an irradiating pain from his left limb that made him put a knee on the floor, a painful expression on his face.

"- Hattori !" Conan rushed to him, trying to compress the wound as soon as possible, which resulted in a grunt from the osakan detective.

"- Akai ! We are like sitting ducks here !" the small detective shouted.

"- ... Spotted Chianti... Neutralized... Kudô, I'm sorry, she was on another building, I couldn't find her fast enough... Casualties by your side ?

\- Hattori got hit in the gut... As to Kid" Conan paused and let Heiji compress his wound by himself while checking the Thief. Precociously, he turned him on the side, to be welcomed by a grin, a bit forced maybe, but better than expected.

"- Where are you hurt ?" he inquired

"- Self-esteem ? Bullet proof jacket ? The shoulder was grazed a bit but I don't think anything is broken... Still better than Tantei-han it seems", he said with a side look at the Osakan.

"- You scared me there. Do you wear a bullet proof jacket on a daily basis?

\- Nope but I kinda had a bad feeling for that heist...

\- Kudô ? " a voice asked through the glasses."How's the thief ?

\- No big harm on his side.

\- Good. By the way, there may be a third man, they would need someone to retrieve the bracelet so you better not stay up there.

\- I was also getting to this conclusion. Tell me if you or your guys spot anyone suspicious. Over."

* * *

"- Ok, let's follow the plan, then.

\- I'm not sure ta agree w'th that part, Kudô... Don' ya think I'm injured enough ?" the dark-skinned detective winced, trying to get up.

" - Do prefer you bridal style or hugging style for the ride? I must say I'm more specialized in bridal style but well... My passengers are more feminine usually", the white thief winked.

"- Ya litt'l...

\- Kid, don't make it harder than it already is... Hattori, stop struggling, we hardly patched you, you still got a damn hole through the belly and you got to reach the hospital before fainting.

\- Who'll be faintin' ? I'm not such a ... ouch..."

Conan rolled his eyes.

"- Ok, go guys, Osaka General Hospital. Kid, use my face as you seem to appreciate it. It'll be easier to find an explanation that way and you need some stitches on that shoulder, it doesn't look good. Stay there 'til I come, we need to talk. You have our phones' numbers if anything turns wrong.

\- Do you understand I'm trusting you with my most precious belonging, Tantei-kun ?" the thief asked, suddenly serious.

"- We'll get her back, Kaitou. "

* * *

Conan watched the badly assorted couple jump into thin air towards Osaka General. They decided, as Heiji's wound wasn't that serious, it was better to go to another hospital : at least, it would be less obvious they were shot in the heist. He looked at the jewel in his slightly shaking hands and after several long minutes, his heart had a jolt when he found the tiny little black chip stuck inside the bracelet behind a stone.

_"Now, we are talking"_ he thought. He hid it on him and went down the stairs.

"- Hey, boy!" a deep man voice asked

Conan froze on the last steps and looked at the man waiting near the stairs entrance.

"- Superintendent Matsumoto? What are you doing here?

\- I was visiting my daughter who moved in Osaka and couldn't resist when I heard there was a heist tonight. The message seemed to lead here... And you, still trying to catch Kid on your own? It's not because the name is "Kid" that you should think it's not dangerous to go after him you know !" he scolded while coming closer. "Eh, is that blood? Are you hurt, Conan-kun?" he asked with a worried look.

"- No, no, it's not mine, it's Kid's, he was shot on the roof and left the jewel behind him when he escaped, so I'm bringing it back!

\- That's great! Well, give it to me, I'll bring it back to Nakamori-keibu. As to you, you should go back as soon as possible to Mouri-san and your nee-chan, it's late, they are probably really worried.

\- Of course, Superintendent Matsumoto!" the boy answered with a childish smile as he was giving the bracelet. "Have a good evening !

\- Good night, Conan-kun", the man wished, while the boy was quickly going away towards Osaka's Koshien. Once alone, he turned his eyes to the stone.

_"And if..._ " thought Conan while going away. "_But no... Though, the eye could be... "_

* * *

"- Kudô ?

\- Yes, Akai ?

\- We retrieved Korn and Chianti. Both dead.

\- ... I thought I heard "neutralize" earlier?

\- I did neutralize them, none of their wounds were deadly. But they used poison, should have seen that coming since Calvados case... My men were too slow to prevent that...

\- Did they see other ravens?

\- None that we know... And you, anyone suspicious around the hospital?

\- ... nope.

\- Strange, I would have bet there was a third, else their plan had no sense...

\- We'll never know. Well, your night job ends there, I'm going to check on the guys to Osaka General. Thanks, Akai.

\- You're welcome."

_"Ok and here comes the hard part" _Conan thought, as he was coming near the Koshien_ "explainingto Kazuha that her childhood friend has been shot and went to the hospital without getting her extremely worried..."_


	3. Heist Arc - Chapter 3 - Secrets & wait

**I think you may have noticed in the previous chapters but, for this story, I will consider Kid knows Conan is Shinichi. This fact is canon in the films but not in the manga so I preferred to make it clear : )**

**This chapter is a bit long but some explanations were needed at this point, even if it meant a bit less action, and I didn't want to split it. **

**I think I'll publish this story on a weekly basis, I'll warn beforehand if any break.**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o0o**

**LLL : Thanks for your review ! To answer to your questions : yes, I do plan to go quite far in the Syndicate fall and yes, this story is to be a long one : ) **

* * *

**Chapter 3 : Secrets &amp; wait **

* * *

Taking back his breath, Conan looked up to the hospital room's plate. Number 556, name Hattori Heiji. He pushed the door, to stare at himself leaning on the wall though no mirror was required. His bespectacled grown-up face smirked at him. Apparently, the Kid had found the spare glasses he gave to his Osakan friend.

"- I should get used to it but I can't, it's so creepy... The more with the glasses, you look like "Conan" in 10 years..." he sighted. "Ok, I got a short lead but both girls are coming. I made for them a nice story about Hattori being hurt during the heist by some random guy aiming at Kid and he bumped into Shinichi who took him to the hospital. Roger that?

\- Yup!" the Thief answered, taking off the glasses.

"- Ya... " a muffled voice said from the hospital bed.

"- Still with us Hattori?" Conan asked, moving by Kid to move closer to the bed." How are you doing?

\- They maybe have been a bit enthusiastic on medication but else... Good thin' with sniper's bullets, they'r so fast they just go righ' through ya... So no fancy damage done, I'll be out in 2 or 3 days.

\- Good to hea...

\- Heijiiii !" A form with a ponytail rushed through the door towards the bed.

"- Ouch ! Ahou, just don' hug me like that, I'm hurt ya know!

\- Sorry" Kazuha said, slightly going away. "What happ'ned? Conan explained quickly ya left him at the stadium an' then he got a call from Kudô-san sayin' ya were injuried but he didn' make any sense...

\- Well I kinda ended up b'tween that damn Kid and one o' his over dedicated fans... Just bad luck ya know.

\- Luck ?" she raised a brow." Ya sure ya had your o-mamori with ya?

\- O' course, o' course... I'll be out in a few days, nothin' ta fret about..."

Conan and Kaito were still near of the bed when Ran entered the room and spotted the fake detective.

"- Shinichi !

\- Yo, Ran !" he answered, slightly blushing. "Sorry I didn't contact you, I wasn't planning to drop by but I bumped into Hattori and couldn't let him alone like that. Looks like it was a good idea after all, since I got to see you" he added with a shy smile.

"- Calm down, Mr Sweet talker" Conan mumbled with a glare, careful to be out of reach of any unwanted ears.

"- Glad ta hear it was a "good idea after all" ta not let me bleed ta death in the middle of nowher' " Heiji pointed, a forged outraged look on his face.

He then hold back a yawn but was noticed by Kazuha who looked at him with a protective look.

"- Sorry, we're so many in ther' while ya're prob'ly tired after all this...

\- No worries. Could ya just please call Oba-han? She'll kill me if I don' give any news.

\- And could you girls find us something to eat?" the fake detective asked." I must admit I'm starving."

Ran looked at him with untold worry in her eyes.

"- I won't leave, I got this dark skinned detective to watch, I bet if I don't, he'll try to walk back home tonight.

\- Would be so Heiji-like" the Osakan girl smiled. "No mor' dangerous moves tonight, ya hear me ?

\- As if I'd do somethin' like th't ..." the west detective assured her.

"- You're coming with us, Conan-kun?" asked Ran, turning at the boy.

"- I'll stay with Shinichi-niichan, it's been so long, he must have so many stories to tell! And I want pizza!

\- Why not...

\- Ta be honest, Ran-chan, this won't be easy ta find here" frowned Kazuha, "ya sure ya don't want anythin' else, Conan-kun ?

\- Pizza! Pizza!

\- I'll also enjoy pizza" The fake Shinichi added with an embarrassed look, "sorry for the inconvenience...

\- Looks like we have 2 selfish kids in there" Ran smiled. " The choice is settled then, let's look for pizzas, Kazuha-chan.

\- Laters!" Conan said, closing the door behind them.

* * *

" - So, now that Tantei-kun got us quite a bit of time for our chat, let's focus on the main subject", the Thief said while sitting on a chair near of Heiji's bed.

The move made him wince and his right hand went to hold his hurt shoulder. Conan was taking the chair on the other side but saw the thief's face. The guy was so good at acting that the small detective almost forgot he was hurt.

"- How's that wound, Kid ?

\- Nothing serious... Got a few stitches but the bones are barely bruised, it'll heal fast.

\- If you don't put another heist in the meanwhile... Good to go, Hattori?

\- Ya, I will manage, poke me if ya hear som' snorin' " the patient said with a smile.

"- So Kid, as you promised earlier, mind tell us your tale? Can we also call you something else than 'Kid'?

\- Kuroba Kaito. That's my name. The real one.

\- Really ?! Wow, we didn' had ta push a lot ta get ther'... " Heiji noticed, slightly astonished. "So the Kaitou is a Kaito? Quite the thin cover.

\- Well, it was so thin that the guys we met earlier also got right through it... I must admit it, I'm busted. "

* * *

_Two days earlier -_

Kaito hit the door's bell for the third time.

"- Anyone here ? Come on, Aoko, it's not fuuuny !"

It was the second time he tried to knock on her door since he came back from Jii's bar. Her friend invited him the previous day for dinner but the house seemed pretty empty and he couldn't reach her phone.

_ "7 pm, damnit, where is she ?"_

Perhaps she was angry at him since this morning after he flipped her skirt again ? She didn't seem to be amused but she wasn't the resenting type...

That was starting to have him worried. Turning back to his home, the teen checked once again his cell phone without much hope. And, at last, there it was, the message icon was weakly flashing. He closed his front door while opening the message box and had a smile seeing it was from Aoko. His joy turned out to be quite short-lived as he discovered the contents of the message.

Three words : "We got her", along with a picture of a tied and unconscious Aoko.

As he noticed his hands started trembling, Kaito calmed down with long and slow breathing and focused a bit more on the picture. To his great relief, the teenage girl didn't seem to be hurt, they shouldn't have used force to kidnap her, drugs maybe then. The light going down on her sleepy face was probably some daylight, so Kid guessed the picture had been taken at least one or 2 hours earlier...

_"Where are the detectives when you need some ? " _he grumbled, unable to get any other clue from the picture.

As he couldn't think of anything else, Kaito dialled Aoko's number, prepared for the worst.

"- That was fast, Magician-san" a male voice complimented.

"- What do you want from me ? Is Aoko alright ?

\- I'm here, Kaito, I'm ok !" he heard her say in the background.

"- As she says... But as to the near future, everything is in your hands, Kaitou Kid-san.

\- What are you talking about ? My name is Kaito not Kaitou.

\- And you like magic tricks but are just an average high school student? Yea, I guess it's the well-polished answer you give to everyone but I don't need your confirmation, I already know you're the Kid.

\- What is he talking about?" he heard Aoko ask faintly.

"- So you didn't even tell your girlfriend about it?" Bourbon laughed. "Quite the big secret, eh ?

\- She's... " Kaito closed his eyes to focus, trying to keep a neutral voice "... my neighbour and classmate, that's all.

\- So sweet, trying to make her sound unimportant to you... It's been 2 days I tail you, my boy, and you won't deceive me about your attachment to her. Let's stop beating around the bush, I know about your late father's night job and that Jii-chan, that assistant of yours and, above all, I know about a certain secret chamber I found at your home 3 hours ago while you were playing with your new toy at the bar."

Kaito froze, just how did that guy...

"- Kaito, what is he saying?" the girl's shaking voice asked from afar. "What secret room ? Are you really... ? It's just... impossible..."

Kaito could almost hear in her silent shock the sound of her heart break to the truth. But he couldn't comfort her right now... There was only one thing he could do.

"- Kidnapper-san, I'm listening" he said, using Kid's tone.

"- Good. Tomorrow morning, Osaka's police will receive a heist note from you. You will follow the instructions you'll find on it. It'll also conceal the location as to where to give us the loot. The heist is the day after tomorrow. I wish you good luck, for both your sake and hers."

Kaito stared a few moments at Aoko's picture on his phone after Bourbon hung up. How foolish he was... He knew he was being watched but didn't expect the guy to find out his identity... And that fast ? Who the heck was he ? The Thief was even more angry at himself for involving Aoko in all that. She was so defenceless... It wasn't hard to kidnap a girl alone at home, with her father always at work...

Kaito shrugged, as to get rid of all the remorse starting to pile up on his shoulders.

_"No time for self-pity"_ he thought.

Aoko was probably hating him now, their relationship would never be the same but this feeling of loss brought him to one realization : he couldn't imagine life without her and the idea of her being hurt was unbearable.

He had an heist to prepare.

* * *

Conan felt a chill along his spine.

"- I can perfectly identify to that, Kuroba...

\- I bet... And you, Tantei-kun, how did you get to know those men ?

\- Well since it looks like today is the 'spill-your-secrets' day... Six months ago, I witnessed a trade between what looked like bad guys. I wasn't careful enough, didn't notice one was behind me... They fed me with what they called an "experimental" poison and here it is, Chibi-Kudô at your service! I can't really complain as I'm alive, when the drug was supposed to kill me but the effect was still quite surprising, getting me 10 years younger.

\- You know some women would kill for that ?" the Thief smirked

"- I'll gladly switch with them... Since that first encounter, I'm hiding my true identity from everyone, only a few selected know the truth, Mouri family not included. I bumped into those men from time to time... Succeeded in catching or identify some, while some other were killed but we never got near of the top. That's why the chip is so important to me : it could lead us to their Boss or there could be the antidote formula.

\- Why aren't you opening it just now?

\- Last item we got like that was booby-trapped with a virus, I need a safe computer and someone gifted with IT. Got that on hand, but I have to go back to Tokyo...

\- Case to be followed then... And you, Tantei-han, why are you into that hunt ?" Kaito inquired . "What's your secret on this "spill-your-secrets" day ?

\- As if I need'd a reason ta help my best pal' " Heiji answered with a smile before yawning again. "Sorry guys, but I'm kinda leavin' ya at the moment, can't focus anym're...

\- You need sleep, even if it didn't do too much damage, a bullet wound asks for rest, I know what I'm talking about... " Conan got up, heading towards the door. "Laters, Hattori, I'm not sure we'll met before I go back to Tokyo but we keep in touch. Kuroba, can you mail the picture you received to the both of us ? We may find some hints you didn't notice in that file. And call us as soon as you have some news, I bet they'll try and contact you. Now, let's wait outside for our pizzas ! "

* * *

"- Were you sure of your intel, Vermouth ? The card was nowhere to be found on the bracelet.

\- Absolutely, RUM-chan.

\- Anokata maybe let the leash loose on you, but I'm not Him.

\- You're no fun, Mr. Number 2. I'm confident about that piece of information, the chip was with the bracelet. I had it from a reliable source, they wouldn't have any reason to lie to me as my disguise was perfect.

\- So you're suggesting it was stolen in between ?

\- We dealt with a Thief after all, that's what they do.

\- Maybe Bourbon wasn't persuasive enough for our little new friend... He's always been kinda soft-hearted. I guess it's time I take care of that case, the Kid is too much of an asset to let him act like a mad dog..."

* * *

"The bracelet retrieved ! A star smiles on Osaka's Koshien" the front page of the newspaper in Conan's hand said, although he was too deep in his thoughts to read it.

He came back to Tokyo the previous evening and was now sitting in Kogoro's living room after a short and agitated night of sleep. The heist happened 2 days before, he was still waiting to hear from Kuroba and that was starting to upset him.

The Thief had walked them back to Heiji's parents' house after they visited the Osakan at the hospital that night. He left them on the doorstep with a saddened look, saying that, since he saw everyone was alright, he shouldn't wait any longer to go back to his "very important" case. Ran was a bit taken aback but didn't insist against his serious look.

_"Damn he was good"_ Conan remembered_," it was so much something I could have said and that expression looked very Shinichi-like...Uhg, since when did I start speaking of myself in the third person ? Bet it's that annoying Thief fault for looking so much like me..."_

But he had to admit Kid had been perfect and no one would ever know it wasn't the true Shinichi that night, which was, after all, the whole goal behind that trick.

The night he came back to the capital, he rushed out to Agasa's house before Ran could stop him, declaring he had some game to bring back urgently and he'll be back for dinner.

It was the first time he could watch Haibara's jaw almost drop when he explained her with a grin the kind of "small pieces of information" she may be able to find on the little card he put in her hands.

"- Consider I'm already working on this, Kudô-kun, I'll keep you informed about what's on that chip and what I can get out of it.

\- You have one week, after I must give that to the FBI.

\- Hakase, you heard him. Please call the school to warn them I'll be absent next week. Now, no one even thinks about disturbing me" she said with a menacing glare, closing the lab door.

Since then, Conan had to refrain himself to look at his phone every 2 minutes, while waiting either from Haibara or Kuroba.

"- Conan-kun" Ran's voice said from the kitchen, "can you please leave that newspaper and bring me back your dishes ? You're going to be late for school...

\- Haaai..."

After one last glance, he pocketed his phone.

* * *

Kaito just couldn't stand the wait. 2 days, 2 long days and still no news from the Organization. He tried to call Aoko's phone the day after the heist, to see if he could talk his way out of his failure and check if she was still alright but it was shut down, of course.

He also had to stand the sight of Nakamori-keibu, who was devasted after 4 days without his daughter. The man had sent a kidnapping alert to the MPD while Kaito was in Osaka for the heist but of course, no testimonies were to be heard, no clues were to be found. She disappeared into thin air after she left from school.

Kuroba knew the truth but there was no way telling Aoko's father she was in the hands of a dangerous group who kidnapped her because she was too close of him, the Kaitou Kid.

He sighted one more time in front of his computer, trying to focus again on the screen.

_"Damn, I can't think straight when I'm like that..." he told to himself," Remember, Poker Face, that's a basis for a Kaitou ! Ok, coffee, I need to wake up. "_

He was standing up when he felt his cell vibrate in his pocket. His eyes widened when he saw Aoko's number.

"- I think we may have misunderstood each other, Kaitou Kid" a deep male voice said.

"- How could we ? I don't think I already shared the pleasure of your company, since you do not sound like the man I've spoken to before.

\- Let's say we decided to take your specific case more seriously. I need you to understand we are even more dangerous that our common friends and you've seen what they've done to your father. At the moment, your dear girlfriend is alright but your very next answers will determine her future.

\- May I ask how to ensure she's safe ?"

He heard a slapping noise and a faint moan, which was definitely female.

"- Aoko ?

\- Kaito, whatever you are, just don't do what they're ask... !"

Another slapping noise. Another moan. He closed his eyes to get a grip on himself.

"- Will you stop that? A true gentleman has no need to lay a hit on a lady.

\- I'm just trying to make my point there... "

Another slap stronger this time. Kaito could hear Aoko sobering softly. Shaking in anger, he clenched his jaw and tried to sound as calm as possible.

"- ...You did, there's no use in continuing this little act.

\- Ready to play by my rules then, Mr Thief ?

\- May I hear what is your request, Mr Kidnapper?

\- The chip.

\- As a reminder, I'm a jewel thief, I'm not into IT material. Unless it has any relation to the bracelet your people asked me to steal last heist?

\- Don't play dumb or your girlfriend will get more than slaps. The chip was in the bracelet before the heist and isn't anymore now. No need to be a genius to know where it ended.

\- And let's say I don't possess this piece of technology you're looking for?

\- Then you'd better do your best to retrieve it or else I won't have any use for your female friend here. You have one week. The exchange will take place at the docks, 8pm next Monday, I'm sending GPS coordinates to your phone. Alone.

\- May I ask how do I know I can trust you ? The last rendezvous I shared with you gents ended with a quite non-romantic face-to-face with a rifle...

\- You'll have to take the risk, it's not like you have any other choice, Mr. Thief."

And the man hang up.

Kaito clenched his fists so strong his hands whitened and hit the wall next to him with his hand to release his anger.

_" Aoko..." _

* * *

"- Yes Dad ?" Ran answered.

Conan recognized Kogoro's voice through the phone.

"... Mô, Dad, that's your fault" she scolded him "you shouldn't play pachinko at all !"

"... Well, it can't be helped then, I'm coming, give me the address."

Ran scribbled a note on a piece of paper and hung up.

"- Sorry Conan-kun, can I leave you alone for a moment ? Dad's forgotten his wallet, he can't pay his pachinko bill, I have to go there...

\- No problem Ran-neechan, there's Yaïba on TV !

\- It shouldn't be long" she said, taking her jacket.

"- What have I done for such an irresponsible father ? No Yôko shows for a while, I swear !" He heard her complaining in the stairs.

" Baka Kogoro" he sighted. "With less games and alcohol, maybe he would be a better detective..."

He was setting the TV on the news channel when he heard the door open.

"- You forgot something, Ran-neechan ?" he asked, still focused on the screen.

"- Not exactly" he heard her voice say from really close.

"- Ugh..." Conan barely saw a face similar to his holding a stun gun before being swallowed by an empty darkness.

* * *

**I quite hesitated for this chapter between a strong Kaito, like the one I described, able to calm down for Aoko or, on the contrary, a panicking Kaito, unable to hide the fact he feared she could be hurt by his fault... I guess the second idea would have given sweet moments but, in the end, I decided I needed him to be strong : ) **

**Always keep your Poker Face, boy !**


	4. Heist Arc - Chapter 4 - Cooperation

**Thank you once again for the views, favourites, follows and reviews, it's good to feel some people are interested in my story ; )**

**How to introduce this chapter ? Let's say you'll have the 4 Gosho Boys, as I promised ****: )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 4 : Cooperation**

* * *

"- So, Tantei-kun, where did you hide it?"

Conan blinked as he was gradually regaining consciousness. He was sitting on the couch, in Kogoro's living room, hands tied behind him, and Kid's face was close to his.

"- What the heck is that about, cosplay freak?" he growled, blinking his eyes.

"- Where did you hide the chip? I searched the whole flat and couldn't put my hands on it. You already gave it to the FBI? Or is it still by your IT specialist?

\- And you needed to stun me for that? Didn't we agree last time we would work together?

\- Since your plans seem to always end with someone hurt, I prefer to have it my way."

Even if his voice was calm, Conan noticed the Kid was shaking in anger, acting far less calm than usual, looking a bit desperate.

"- Come on, I know you're not interested in the data... What did They tell you? Did They do anything to Aoko-san?

\- Yes, and that's why I shouldn't have listen to you.

\- Kuroba" The boy looked at him in the eyes. "You know I won't give you the name of who has the chip and I know you won't try and hurt me for it."

The Thief stared back at him during some long minutes before looking away, clenching his fists. He then shrugged as a sign of defeat.

"- I had to try" he said while untying the small kid. "Pity, I was glad to have been able to have both your uncle and Nee-chan away so quickly... His wallet is downstairs on his desk by the way.

\- Noted... Well, what happened?" Conan asked, rubbing his wrists.

"- They asked for the chip, I have until Monday to bring it to them in a well-defined place. The mastermind changed, he's far more of a psycho than the first. Aoko... They were clear about the fact they won't hesitate killing her if I don't do what they say." Kaito had a chill.

"- Is she alright?" Conan asked, with concern on his face.

"- They called me and pushed her a bit around... Nothing too serious, I think... And hope.

\- And you thought I wouldn't give you the card out of free will to help her so you imagined this little act?

\- Guess I'm not in my highest shape at the moment...

\- You bet."

They agreed to meet the following afternoon after classes, in front of Conan's school, and then Kid left.

* * *

At the bell, Agasa opened his door to look at a familiar face.

"- Shinichi-kun? Did you...

\- I'm here, Hakase" Conan said, appearing from behind the Kid. "Let us in, I'd prefer not to stay on the doorstep.

\- Of course, come in! You just got me quite scared there" he confessed while closing the door. "So this young man is ... ?

\- Kid, at your service" Kaito winked.

"- Agasa Hiroshi, nice to meet you. The resemblance is quite striking..." the professor stated, looking at the Thief.

"- I also noticed..." Conan sighted. "We came to check on Haibara, is she downstairs?

\- Yes, she leaves the lab only to eat and shower since you gave her the card. I hope she finishes soon, I'm getting tired of fast-food I must say... Though you better not repeat it to her, I'll get scolded for my high calories intake...

\- You make her sound like your wife, Hakase" Conan smiled. "Ok Kid, let's go to her lab."

They both went downstairs and the boy knocked carefully on the door.

"- Haibara?"

They waited a bit until she opened the door, with her usual white coat and a large cup of coffee in the hand.

"- Ku... Conan-kun? Who's that Nii-chan with you?

\- No need for the child act, he's in... Let me introduce to you the Kaitou Kid."

The teen smiled and give her an extravagant bow before proceeding to a baisemain.

"- Kaitou Kid, at your service, ma'am"

\- You should learn some manners from him, Kudô-kun" she said with a smile while Conan rolled his eyes at the Thief's little act. "Haibara Ai, scientist.

\- It is the greatest pleasure for me to meet you, my lady.

\- Pleasure is the same, your reputation precedes you, Kaitou Kid."

Being bored of all the bowing and scraping between the scientist and the Thief, Conan stepped in.

"- Now that the introductions are over, any progress with that chip, Haibara? You didn't call...

\- Sorry, I was a bit busy... And I wanted to double check everything. Broadly, all the data on the card is coded, so it's quite a pain to get anything out of it. I had to decide what I was looking for and determine the file's characteristics to identify it by the frame only.

\- Do you want me to ask some help from the FBI ?" Conan proposed. "Their analysts may not be as good as you but there are many of them, it could be faster...

\- Well, I'm used to the Organization's method to encrypt data and, to be honest, I prefer to do it myself... Don't touch that!" She interrupted as the Kid, curious as he was, was getting a bit too close to some of her test tubes." It took me the whole night to get to that point, I don't want to start again from scratch.

\- Are those related to the chip? Did you find the APTX 4869 formula?

\- Hold your horses, meitantei-san. I've found something that looks like it, indeed, that's one of the part of the chip I decrypted. I need to lead a few more tests to be sure, so don't get too much excited at the moment.

\- Ok..." Conan sighed, a bit aback. "What about any members or secret bases' lists?

\- That's the second kind of files I identified but the encryption is pretty high level, I'm still barely at the beginning.

\- Do you think we could copy the card? " The Thief asked.

"- Nope, too risky, if you try and copy the encrypted data, we'll have another Night Baron on the comp' and the card will be erased... We can only copy the parts I decifer, which is, as I said, a long process.

\- Then what do you suggest, Tantei-kun? You said you would give me that chip out of free will but we both need it... And I can't take the risk to show up at the trade without the real thing."

Conan had a thoughtful look on his face and then turned to Ai.

"- Haibara, do you think you'll be able to process both antidote's info and BO's members/hideouts list before Monday?

\- I don't think so. I'm already working day and night on the chip and you can see the results after 4 days... Give me one subject to focus on.

\- Being back to my former self or bringing down the Organization? What a choice.

\- I'll follow you whatever solution you take, Kudô-kun."

Conan paused one instant to think about the different possibilities. He wanted his own body back really badly but then, what? He would put everyone in danger if he stayed with them, as he would top on the hunting list from the men in black. Still no future with Ran in there... He sighted and lifted his eyes to Haibara.

"- Ok, members and hideouts list then, who knows, we may find other information on the APTX in their sites.

\- I'm on that" the girl nodded. "I think I'll need more coffee, could you ask Hakase to bring me another cup?

\- Sure"

They climbed the stairs and Conan passed the message to Agasa.

"- Ok for the chip, let's hope we'll get something that can be exploited before Monday. Now we need to work on the plan for the exchange...

\- What plan?" the Kid asked .

"- That's exactly why we need one, we need to think about something. I don't want to imply the FBI, as I was supposed to give them the card and I don't think they'd like the idea of me using it as a bait but with just the 2 of us... I'll call Hattori, I think he'll be able to help with the plan and coordination during the operation at least. Do you have anyone on your side? You're used to work with at least an accomplice, right?

\- Yes but I don't think he's fit enough any more to dodge bullets. I may have someone else, it'll be a pain in the butt but he's efficient and intelligent and he'll probably be in, at least for Aoko.

\- Ok, meet tomorrow here, same time, with whoever we can find?

\- Yup."

* * *

"- How did you convince them?

\- Well I'm supposed ta have "absolute rest" fer a week. Don' see why I can't do that at yar house."

Heiji was sitting in the couch of Agasa's living room, a cup of green tea in front of him. Conan was facing him in the other couch, his face hesitating between concern, as the teen was still looking a bit feeble, and amusement, at the idea he probably defied - again - his father.

"- And they agreed?

\- Kinda...

\- Hattori, am I going to see your parents coming here to grab you at the scruff of the neck and bring you back straight to Osaka?" Conan asked, now grinning.

"- Na, o' course. I just have ta call twice a day an' Kazuka'll come tomorrow ta "look after me". Was already hard avoiding her skippin' school today...

\- You should be moved by the fact she's so concerned with you..." The boy pointed. "Still, you sure you're fine?

\- Second time ya ask, Kudô. If it's just fer paperwork, I can help. Just don' ask me too often ta get up from th's couch.

\- Be careful, you begin to sound like Kogoro...

\- And ya think ya're funny... Behave, or I'll throw you through the room just like he does." Heiji threatened with a smirk. He turned his head to the door when the bell rang.

"-Just on time!" Conan noticed. "It's probably for me Hakase, don't bother! "he said, rushing to the door.

"- Hi, Midget, I came to play!

\- I think I may close this door just right now, Kuroba..." Conan threatened, not really pleased being called a midget.

"- I don't really mind what you do about Kuroba-kun but I personally would be quite bothered to have to wait outside under the rain, Conan-kun.

\- Hakuba... - nii-chan?" he stated with surprise, letting them in.

"- Nice to see you again, little meitantei, long time no see. Sorry for intruding, my fellow classmate decided I had to pay you a courtesy call...

\- I said I would explain, right, Hakuba? You see, I wanted to show you... this beautiful dove coming from Conan-kun's ear!" the Thief said while moving his hand towards the kid's head, releasing a dove in Agasa's living room.

"- Hey, Hattori!" he greeted, throwing himself on the couch near of the Osakan while the others were distracted by the bird, "How are you doing?

\- Hale an' hearty, and ya?

\- Already forgot it.

\- Oh, Hattori-kun" Saguru stated as he was crossing the room towards the Thief." Well, I guess I would have noticed you earlier if you had been polite enough to greet us... Though, nothing surprising coming from an unmannered man like you.

\- If ya want insults, I'm yar...

\- So you already know each other" Kaito cutting Heiji short with a wide childish smile, "great, we'll spare some time with introductions !

\- Kuroba, remin' me why ya brought him ?

\- For once, I do agree with our hot-blooded detective of the West, you all seems like good pals but may I know why I was invited to this pyjamas party ?" the blond haired detective asked.

"- Just how much did you tell him, Kuroba ?" The half-brit raised a brow hearing once again Conan call the magician "Kuroba" without honorifics.

"- Hmm to be honest, I kinda thought it would be better to spill the beans with you all, just to avoid being hit or thrown in jail or both, you know...

\- Then, all of you, have a seat" Conan invited. "I'm bringing more tea and snacks, we have a long chat ahead of us."

Once they were all settled, Saguru and Conan on one couch and Heiji and Kaito on the other, the Thief stopped staring his tea cup and started to speak.

"- Well, you kinda discovered the truth by yourself" the Kid said, looking in Hakuba's eyes "but let me tell you a story. We have to go back in time, 8 years ago, when Kaitou Kid was a well-known international thief. He was approached by a certain organization, who wanted him to help them to find and steal a specific jewel, a doublet they used to call Pandora. After working a while with them, he concluded the men were some disreputable characters, even for a thief, so he was determined to stop their collaboration. He also decided to prevent them from reaching their goal and became a thief only targeting jewels, trying to find before them the Pandora and destroy it. But the organization was quite the powerful one and discovered Kid's identity. Having his name, it wasn't hard to plan an "accident" during one of his many magic shows, as the Thief was also a magician outside his secret life... The man name was Kuroba Tôichi, my father.

\- I'm sorry about your father..." Saguru sighted. " I heard from Aoko-san about the accident 8 years ago but didn't imagine it was a murder. Still..." He said, staring at Kaito, "no matter how good the reasons, you're just a criminal, Kuroba-kun.

\- I won't deny I am. I decided to take over from my father by targeting jewels to find the ones who murdered him, whatever the consequences. Fame, wealth, I don't care about all that, I just want justice.

\- I don't think I will ever approve the fact you decided to follow your father's steps on thievery... I think you understand I won't be any softer in trying to catch you during the heists just because you told me the truth?

\- I wasn't expecting it, it's not today's meeting purpose. No, what's important now is the second part of the story. A few days ago, an organization, close to the one who killed my father, followed Kuroba Tôichi's trail and accidently discovered I was the new Kid. Their goal was to have me work for them, so they try and found a leverage...

\- Does it have any connection to Aoko-kun's disappearance?

\- It has all to do, she's been kidnapped by them more than a week ago" Kaito sighted, lowering his eyes.

"- You stupid Thief, how could you imply her in all that, she doesn't even know the truth!

\- I know! Don't you dare think I don't worry about her..."

As both teen were staring at each other, a heavy silence fell in the room, to be interrupted by a munching noise which made them turn both their heads at the same time to see Heiji, a cracker halfway to his mouth.

"- What, don' look at me like that... I'm hurt, I need ta built up back som' strength!"

Kuroba left his serious face to go back to his usual self and laughed whole-heartedly.

"- Thank you, Hattori, for being so much unable to read the mood!

\- Uh... Anytime?

\- To go back to the subject, we are all here today for Aoko-san, Hakuba" Conan added, with a grave look and voice, both clearly not belonging to a small child.

"- Glad to hear it..." the teen was a bit impressed at the boy's mature aura. He got a grip on himself."But you know, Conan-kun, same goal or not, it is quite rude to drop the honorifics to your nii-chans. I noticed you tended to forget the "niisan" a lot today.

\- No need for that, we got the same age." The bespectacled kid pointed out with a serious face.

\- ... Last time I checked, I'm quite sure the handsome meitantei I am wasn't 7 years old.

\- Neither am I."

Saguru ironically smiled, as if a good prank was being performed. He looked at the other teen as to share the joke but both their faces were straight. Feeling it was perhaps not a joke at all, he lost his smile and turned back to Conan.

"- Ok... Would you mind enlighten me about that little mystery?"

Conan got up to face Hakuba and removed his glasses.

"- Let's do the introductions once again. I'm Kudô Shinichi, nice to meet you" the small detective said, presenting his right hand.

"- This would explain a lot of things about you, Conan... Kudô-kun, " Saguru shook the boy's hand, a bit absent minded, "except for one, what happened to your body?

\- The Organization who detains Aoko-san isn't only specialized in kidnappings. We are speaking about an international structure, with many men, probably infiltrated in high Japanese authorities, police included. I accidently met them 6 months ago and they left me for dead after feeding me with some unknown drug. When I woke up, I was under this shrunken form. I've decided to keep a low profile and took "Edogawa Conan" alias since.

\- So you declared a ceasefire with the Kid to shoot down your common enemy? And Hattori-kun's your side-kick?

\- Yup, though I can't kick anythin' at the moment, a lil' memory from our mutual friends...

\- All that being said, what are you all expecting from me?

\- Kuroba has been invited next Monday evening to trade Aoko-san against a micro-chip we've retrieved during last heist, with sensitive information about Them " Conan explained. "We decided to be a bit greedy and to try and keep both, though it's obviously a trap. Wanna do another pyjamas party with the 3 of us?"

* * *

**To be honest, this chapter could have been really different but well, I wanted to see the 4 boys working together as fast as possible so I had to stop myself turning Kid into a "bad" guy. But the idea of him ready for everything for Aoko's sake was fun : ) **

**Sorry for Hakuba's fans, he may just sound like a jerk in this chapter, but I wanted his relation to the others to look like the Tantei Koushien, at least at the beginning ; ) **


	5. Heist Arc - Chapter 5 - Preparation

**Once again a small *coughs* chapter ; )**

**The beginning is a bit of KazuHei-ish (this one is for you, Opal Spirit !) but no worries if you're not into that pairing, the boys will give some action in the second half of the chapter !**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**oOo**

**estelle : Thank you for loving my fic, always appreciated ; )**

* * *

**Chapter 5 : Preparation**

* * *

As Saguru agreed to stay, the 4 teens started to work on the information they had. The picture Kaito received the first day was quickly put aside, as the hideout probably changed at the same time than the one one who held her captive. They directed then their reflexions to the location given for the trade and how to secure Aoko and the chip without exposing Kaito to too much danger. Conan was planning to take the 24h-antidote for more striking power and Saguru volunteered to provide them with bullet-proof jackets, as he could get some easily thanks to his father. On his side, the small detective would supply detective boys badges for all of them so Heiji, who would stay hidden in a safe place near of the site, could monitor them all and coordinate their moves.

"- Once we spot Aoko-san, I think we should call the police to back us up and catch the most BO members possible" Conan declared. "We can't take any risk.

\- We may want to give a call to Nakamori-keibu" Kaito advised them." If we tell him his daughter is here, he'll be the fastest on the scene...

\- Good idea... Ah, one sec', must be Ran, it's getting late" Conan said, getting his phone out of his pocket.

"- Hai, Ran-neechan ?

... Gomen, I didn't check my watch, this new game is so cool !

... Yes, I'm leaving now, I'll be here very soon."

" - You're really good with the kid act" the Thief teased with an amused look at the boy.

"- When your life and the ones of those you care about are in the balance, you learn quickly. Ok, I must go back to my "nee-chan" so I guess our little war council stops here. We all have some homework to do, so no need to meet before Monday, I think?

\- Agreed" Saguru answered while the two others nodded.

"- Take care then, we'll see you on Monday then" Kaito said.

"- Hattori, you'll be staying at my home, with Okiya, it will be easier for you than to go back and forth between here and the Agency. I warned him you'll come to rest a few days here.

\- Ok, I should go an' say hello ta my new roommate then" he said, standing up, wincing a bit, a painful expression quickly passing on his face.

"- Take it easy, Tantei-han" the Kid adviced, as he noticed his grimace, "we need you on Monday.

\- Don' worry, I don' plan ta run a marathon this week'nd... "

* * *

_" "Ya'll stay by Okiya at my house"... Damn, Kudô, ya could hav' at least presented him ta me."_

His gym bag on his shoulder, Heiji was grumbling to himself, on his way to his friend's house. He paused in front of the entrance gate and raised his hand to ring the bell, stopping midair as the door opened on a bespectacled light-haired man.

"- Hattori-kun ?" He asked with a smile.

"- Okiya-san ?" Heiji asked, surprised to see the man on his doorstep before he even rang.

"- Come in, Kudô warned me we'll be sharing this house for the few next days" he smiled with a nod. "Let me take your things upstairs, you're still hurt, right ? And the curry should be soon ready, if you're hungry.

\- Oh, eh, thanks !" Heiji felt a bit uneasy at the man's solicitude. "But ya shouldn'... I mean, I don' want ta disturb ya..."

Subaru was now closing the door and getting Hattori's bag off the teen's shoulder. He looked at the dark-skinned detective with a serious face.

"- Let me look after you, since it's partly my fault.

\- What are ya talkin' about ?

\- If I had spotted this sniper sooner...

\- Wait, wait, wait... It was... Ya're Akai-san ?" the teen gave an interrogative look at the young man.

"- Oh, I thought Kudô told you about it ? Since you're in all his secrets and all..." Okiya shrugged. "Well, let's get rid of this now. Yes, I'm both Akai and Okiya. To make it short, we needed to help an agent to re-infiltrate the BO so we faked my death by her hand. To protect her, "Shuichi Akai" had to disappear so we created "Okiya Subaru" and Kudô-kun let me stay in his parents' house.

\- And ya call this "short" ?" Heiji pointed, rising an amused brow. "The voice is different, right ? It's not the same than on the heist... An' I guess yer face is too ?

\- Yes, Yukiko-san had the kindness to show me how to disguise properly and I use this device, " he undid a part of his collar to point to a strange necklace "to change my voice, Agasa hakase's courtesy, quite similar to Kudô's bow. Ah right, I also know about his "little" problem.

\- Wow, looks like it could be really interesting ta have a long chat with ya...

\- How about doing it in front of a curry ?" Akai smiled.

Later that night, Akai helped Heiji upstairs and led him to Shinichi's room, where he already put the teen's bag. After parting on a "good night" to the man, the Osakan detective undressed for the night and settled down on the bed, careful not to lie on his left side, thought he felt it was going better nowadays. He took a look around him, noticing a picture of Ran on his friend's desk. It was a bit strange to stay in Kudô's room : there was a slight stuffy smell and a bit of dust, it felt empty and deserted by his inhabitant. Like the life the teen had to let behind him.

Heiji sighted and rolled on his right side, wishing this room would soon be occupied by his rightful owner and swore to himself once again to do everything he could to shorten the wait.

* * *

The teen was woken up by some knocking on his door.

"- Sorry to disturb you but you have visitors, Hattori-kun..." he heard Okiya's voice.

\- Ugh.. What time is it ?

\- 10 am, sleepy head !

\- Kazuha ? What are ya doin' here? Damn, I totally forgot ya were comin'..."

The door swung open, a really annoyed looking Kazuha storming into the room.

"- "What are ya doin' here?" I got up at dawn to visit ya an' that's all ya find ta say !" She complained loudly.

"- Hey, don' come in without askin'! " Heiji curled up under his blanket to hide the fact he was almost naked. "Don' ya know the word "privacy" ?"

Kazuha had the decency to blush a bit but it didn't stop her.

"- Hadn't ya forgotten me, ya would already be dressed !

\- I didn't ask ya ta come... Ya insisted !

\- I came because I was worried ! Heiji, ya ... Aho !"

As someone cleared his throat at the entrance, both Osakans stopped to turn their heads in the coughing direction.

"- Good morning Hattori-kun", Ran said with a smile."Do you feel better ? Sorry if I'm interrupting anything...

\- Heiji-niichan is mean with Kazuha-neechan !" Conan shouted as he ran into the room.

Heiji raised the blanket even higher.

"- Are ya really all goin' ta come in that room an' lecture me when I'm half naked ?

\- I think Hattori-kun speaks some sense, for the first time of the day" Okiya agreed, with a teasing smile at the bedridden teen. "Let's go downstairs, I'll prepare you some hot drink while our detective there finds himself some clothes.

\- Thanks..." The dark skinned sighted.

The door closed but Heiji noticed Conan was still in the room.

"- So, what are ya doin' here ?

\- Well, someone had to fetch Kazuha at the station..." Conan smirked."She called Ran last evening and the both of us went to met her on the platform. In your stead.

\- Will ya stop teasing me ? I didn' even know on what time she was supposed ta arrive... And I didn' think I'll be so late ta go ta bed yesterday night." Heiji got up to grab some clothes and started to dress himself cautiously. Conan turned his back to him to preserve his "privacy", as the Osakan said.

"- What kept you up ?

\- I had a chat with yar friend livin' here... ya could have told me who he was...

\- I wanted you to have the surprise" Conan smiled at him.

"- Surprise ? Ya do like euphemism, don't ya ?" Heiji gave him a flat glare. "He told me about a lot o' crazy things ya've been doin' with him, implyin' the BO, the FBI, the CIA and whoever else... Ya've been busy, _Conan-kun_ ! Much more than the few info ya gave me on this case suggested...

\- Well I kinda got dragged in all that stuff... Didn't want to annoy you with that.

\- I'm just sayin' I would have liked ta be informed of the full story, as it is BO-related..." Heiji regretted. "Just try ta think about it fer next time... Ok, I'm ready, let's go downstairs !"

* * *

After lunch, as the girls insisted, the four of them went out for some shopping in the vicinity.

"- Shopping again ?" Heiji sighted as they were on their way. "Just how many clothes do ya need in yar dressin' ?

\- Ya can't understand, ya're a guy" Kazuha pointed. "Ya'll look after the bags, as a compensation fer forgettin' me this morning.

\- What part of "hurt" an' "absolute rest" ya don' get, aho ?! I shouldn' even be walkin' this long..."

Conan rolled his eyes, seeing the 2 Osakan were once again picking at each other. He knew his relationship with Ran wasn't easy but those two had really a complicated way to show their affection to the other. Complicated and noisy.

"- We're here !" Ran stopped in front of a shop, with a smile at Kazuha.

"- I'll stay outside with the boy, if ya don' mind. I need ta rest and I don' think Conan-kun's too much interested by shoppin' ." Heiji explained, while Conan gave a nod to Ran.

"- Ok to me then. Let's go, Kazuha-chan !

\- We'll be sittin' near the fountain, ya know where ta find us."

* * *

"-Oi, look," Conan nudged Heiji's arm "isn't it Takagi-keiji near of that police car ?

\- Looks like he's interviewin' someone, he's takin' notes in his notebook", the Osakan pointed.

"- Let's go there, it'll help kill time !

\- Let's hope no one will be killed, it happens far too often when we are together" Heiji smirked.

"- Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am." the inspector said, closing his notebook.

"- Hi, Takagi-keiji !" Conan's cheerful voice greeted.

"- Oh, Conan-kun ! And Heiji-kun ! How are you both doing ?

\- Great !" the small detective answered. "You're on a case ?

\- Yea, but nothing exiting enough for you two" he smiled. " Just some domestic violence, the neighbour called but we were too late...

\- Hey Wataru, come and give me a hand" Sato was coming near of the car, struggling with the handcuffed suspect, as he didn't want to stay still.

Takagi came to help her, placing himself on the other side of the quite oversized culprit.

"- Conan-kun, could you open the car's door please ?" he asked.

"- Yes !"

The man looked at the boy and noticed he was now pretty near of his reach. He tripped and fell of his height on the floor before the 2 inspectors could prevent him from falling.

"- Hey !" Conan shouted.

The man was getting up, the kid now in his arms, his left forearm pressing his hostage's throat when the right kept the boy's body and arms against him.

_"Crap" _Conan thought_, "Can't reach my watch..."_

"- Conan-kun !" Sato worried.

"- I've enough strength to strangle him" he threatened, tightening his grip on the boy. "Drop your weapons in the car"

The cops did what he asked while the criminal took a few steps back. Heiji looked at him, rising his arms in a soothing way.

"- 'Jii-san, he's just a boy, let him go. Killin' someone is already serious enough, ya don' want ta add violence on minor ta that fer yar trial..."

The man seemed to hesitate and suddenly threw the boy in the air. Heiji caught Conan in midair with a painful grunt as the boy's weight sent violently him against the car.

"- Hattori !" the boy's voice was full of concern as the teen slid to the floor, still protecting him in his arms.

Both cops turned to the two civilians, worried at the small detective's shout.

"- Are you alright ?" Sato enquired, crouching to them. Noticing her colleague was uselessly standing behind her, she added " Takagi, go after him, I'm checking on them !"

The man had taken advantage of their inattention to run towards the stores. Unluckily for him, Kazuha and Ran were going out of the shop they were in and witnessed the whole scene. The Osakan girl dropped her shopping bag, shaking in anger.

"- Where do ya think ya're goin' after hurtin' MY Heiji ?!" she shouted, rushing to the guy and sending him fly with an expert Aikido move. As she was shoving him to the ground, Takagi arrived, panting.

"- Sorry... " the male officer started. "And thanks.

\- Anytime", the girl brushed off his embarrassed face with a move of the hand.

Once the Takagi secured the man, she got up and headed quickly to the police car, Ran just behind her with both their shopping bags.

"- Anything wrong ?" Sato asked Conan, noticing the small detective was checking on his friend, a concerned look on his face.

"- He's been hurt recently, I wanted to see if he received any more damage due to me...

\- Ya're not that heavy... _Conan-kun, _not nowadays... at least" the teen joked but he was still trying to catch his breath.

"- You think you can get up ? "Sato asked to the Osakan, getting up and holding his hand to him.

"- Yes." He took her hand and, once on his feet, the teen did some moves to check his injuries but didn't notice any more damage.

" Heiji, are ya alright ?" Kazuha worried as she came near. "Ya didn' re-open yar wound ?

\- Nah it's ok... I think..." He reassured her. His mouth turned into a smirk. "Did I hear "MY Heiji" ?

\- I..." Kazuha blushed. "Stop imaginin' things, ya ahou ! Gimme proofs !"

In the meanwhile, Sato retrieved their weapons and threw a dark look at the criminal approaching the car, hold by Takagi.

"- In there, now !" she ordered, pulling firmly on his handcuffs. She turned to the boys " You sure everything alright ?

\- Yes !" Conan energetically answered, as Heiji did a positive move of the head.

"- Good to hear." She smiled at them."Once again, sorry for that incident... Excuse us, we'll be going, we have to bring that man to the police station... Take care !"

The 4 teens looked at the car going away.

"- Maybe we should go home ?" Conan proposed, with a glimpse at the dark skinned detective.

"- Yes, enough adventures fer me today" Kazuha agreed, also glancing to Heiji.

"- Let's go at the Agency, I'll make us some warm tea" Ran offered, giving back her shopping bag to Kazuha while the men started walking beforehand.

"- "Just shopping" they said... It almost killed me" Heiji sighted.

"- As you pointed earlier, I just think it's the 2 of us being crimes' magnets the problem" the boy grinned at him. "Try to rest for tomorrow, dude.

\- One day ? It's another week o' rest I need after this..."

* * *

Conan came to fetch Heiji quite early that Monday morning and they both walked to Agasa's house, for the final arrangements. Their first move was for Haibara.

"- So, nee-chan, any progress on th't list ?" The Osakan asked.

"- Yes, I ended with something exploitable last night" she confirmed. "I copied the file on this USB key." She gave it to the small meitantei. "It was indeed a list, with the names, occupations, codenames and main missions of some members. Lists of hideouts also, with the main activities of each. I couldn't take a look at it yet so I can't tell you anything more, you'll have to discover it by yourself.

\- Did you find some time to also do some progress on the antidote ?" Conan asked, with a hopeful face.

"- I did get some data during the last hours, I don't know yet if it's worth anything. I'll check on that later, for now, I really need to get back some sleep, I'm so tired coffee doesn't work anymore" she yawned. "Here is the chip, by the way. If you excuse me, I'm heading to my bed."

Conan smiled at Haibara, holding his hand to her.

"- One last thing !"

She sighted and drew a bottle of pills out of her drawer. She put one on the hand held to her.

"- 24 hours, don't forget. And try not to do anything stupid, I'm starting to think the antidote damage the brain when I see how irresponsible you get when you swallow one of those."

Conan gave her a bored look and closed his hand around the pill.

* * *

"- Well, I'm off to school, I'll bring the chip to Kuroba on the way. Hattori, try and see if you can find any interesting information on the usb key.

\- Yea, I'll stay her' ta look at it. Hav' fun with grade school, _Conan-kun_" the dark-skinned detective grinned.

"- Haha really funny..."

* * *

Hakuba was watching the Kid and had been all day. It wasn't obvious but he could see Kaito wasn't his usual self by the small mistakes he made in the magic tricks he performed on his classmates. Today was the D-Day, if everything went well, Aoko-kun would be among them tomorrow, in this very classroom. Of course, he was also worrying about her but his rationalism helped : no matter how powerful the Organization, an asset like the Thief wasn't neglectable and by association, so was his leverage.

It was still complicated for him to get used to the revelations which were made to him 3 days before. He was, for a long time already, utterly convinced that Kuroba was the Kid but he didn't have any proof and the teen kept denying it. These new circumstances where Kuroba was honest with him still made him uncomfortable. They had decided to declare a truce, until Aoko was retrieved but after that, his goal would go back to catching the Thief. He though decided that had to be at least during a heist, as there was no honour in arresting the teen in his everyday life.

The last bell of the schoolday rang, and the whole class stand up. Saguru walked towards the Thief, who was rolling his shoulder with the opposite hand while his other classmates were getting out.

"- Last check up before tonight, Kuroba-kun ? I hope this shoulder is alright.

\- Yea, it's ok now, it's not bothering my moves any more. Still, so much solicitude from the great meitantei, I'm moved, Hakuba" he taunted.

"- I need to know if you are fit enough for this evening's task... See you there, then.

\- I count on you to watch my back, Tantei-san.

\- Sure thing, I want to have the pleasure to arrest you and for that, you need to be alive.

\- You sound like arresting me would be a walk in the park" the Kid smiled.

"- I'll be the one who'll stop you, Kuroba-kun.

\- One day, maybe! At least tonight, don't neglect the fact you also need to be alive for that... Laters! "Kaito said, throwing his school bag on his shoulder.

Saguru also took his and, after a quick pop to his house to retrieve the 3 last bullet proof vests - he already gave one to the Thief the day before, as he was supposed to arrive alone that night - headed towards Agasa's house. The 3 detectives would come together, a bit earlier than the meeting time, to have a prior look at the scene.

* * *

"-Will ya work ya stupid..."

Shinichi heard a thump noise.

"-Oï, Hattori, is everything alright ?

\- Yea, just had ta explain that comp' I was its master... Hakuba, ya ther' ?

\- I'm here, though I wonder for how long you'll hear me if you keep hitting this computer...

\- Ya're the joking type, eh ? Ok, 5 mins' ta go, time ta put yarselves in position. Good luck, guys an' stay alert" the dark-skinned detective advised.

Shinichi had taken the cure 3 hours beforehand and was back to his standard features, to his great pleasure. The 3 teens were wearing black clothes and a bullet proof vest, courtesy of Hakuba, under their sweaters. Each had chosen something to use as a weapon : stun wristwatch and ball dispensing belt for Shinichi, bokken for Heiji, thought he wasn't supposed to have any use of it, tranquilizer gun for Saguru. They were also counting on Kaito's numerous gadgets, matching the ones he commonly used against our detectives during his heists.

Hakuba and Shinichi went quietly to hide around what was left of a 2-storey warehouse where the exchange was going to take place. Heiji was to hang back and offer support to the three other teens so he was now sitting in an empty container they found previously, not far from there. On the map on the screen in front of him, the Osakan could see 3 red lights, each one coming from the detective badges they equipped themselves with. A forth was coming near.

"- Gents" the Thief greeted softly, folding his glider.

"- We'll all her', Kuroba" Heiji confirmed.

"- Then, let the show begin..." he said, walking in.

* * *

As Shinichi was to describe the scene to Saguru and Heiji, he put his night vision glasses for a proper view in the present darkness and peeped inside the warehouse through a broken window. He quickly spotted the Thief, who was almost shining in his white suit thanks to the moonlight piercing through the many holes of the roof.

" - Welcome to our little party, Kaitou Kid", a tall and wide middle aged man said, his face hidden under a hat. He walked towards Kid, 3 men on his heels.

"- I couldn't resist to such an invitation, Mr. Kidnapper. I see you brought some friends ? I guess my humble company wasn't enough to entertain you ?

\- We are never cautious enough, you know...Well, let's get straight to the subject, do you have the chip ?"

_"His voice" _Shinichi thought_, "I know it..."_

"- And you, do you have my lady ?

\- Of course, of course. Show her to him", he ordered, raising his look to a metallic passageway above them.

A man came from the shadows, holding the girl by her tied hands on her back. She had a bruise on the left cheek and was blindfolded but, apart from that, Kaito was relieved to state that she seemed alright.

"- Ojou-san, are you safe and sound ?"

"- ... yes" she answered, her voice shaking a bit.

"- The chip ?

\- It is right here" the Thief said, taking it out of his front pocket.

"- You understand we have to check it before releasing the girl ?" On a head move from the kidnapper, one of the men took out a computer.

"- Of course.

\- Then excuse me for my rudeness, but we have to take a few precautions."

Kaito heard the sound of a trigger cocked and could see the upstairs man menacing Aoko with a gun.

"- Bring it to my man, please refrain from any funny move, for her safety, I wouldn't like an accident."

The Thief breathed deeply to calm his anger and walked to him, holding the card. The boss looked over the shoulder of his IT specialist to check the computer's screen.

"- Guys", Heiji whispered, "Hakuba managed ta get upstairs through the outside staircase, he has a clear shot fer the guy w'th the gun. Kid, after that guy is out, ya'd better rush ta secure yar neechan. Kudô, try ta get the comp. I let ya handle the countd'wn for action as you're the eyes in there. "

After seeing an imperceptible nod from Kaito , the east detective started to count down :" 3... 2 ...1 Go !"

Hakuba aimed for his target. The man had a faint grunt and before he even hit the ground, a smoke bomb exploded, filling the place with a thick fog.

"- He's going upstairs !" the boss coughed, his eyes crying from the smoke. "Go after him and shoot on sight, we can't have him escape !"

The Thief had reached Aoko and was untying her when a man popped out of nowhere in front of them, a gun in the hand, blocking their escape. Kuroba swiftly moved to place himself between the man and Aoko in a protective gesture.

"- You won't go anywh..." The man never finished his sentence and fell forward, revealing Saguru, pointing his tranquilizer gun at him.

"- Thanks, Tantei-san" the Thief said, removing the girl's blindfold.

"- Hakuba-kun ?" Aoko asked, blinking her eyes.

"- Save the thanks for later, Aoko-kun. We need to get you out of there. Kid, take her and fly away, I'll manage my way out.

\- Be careful" the Thief said, getting the girl in his arms and deploying his glider.

After a few steps towards the stairs, Saguru noticed a man in black aiming at them, too far for him to be able to do anything.

"- Watch out! " He tried to warn the Thief.

Kaito heard the warning but, as he jumped at the very same moment, he couldn't stop and had just enough time to tilt his glider inflight, protecting Aoko with his body.

The half-brit helplessly watched the Thief take the full blast of the shoots and land heavily on the floor, the glider being destroyed by the shock.

" - Kid !"

* * *

**Small cliff-hanger.. Did I mention I like them ? ; )**

**See you next week ! **

**Just in case : "BO" = Black Organization**


	6. Heist Arc - Chapter 6 - Kidnapped

**Sorry for the last cliffhanger, I'll try not to use too many but well...****as I said, I enjoy them }=)**

**This chapter has a bit more action, I hope you'll enjoy it : )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**oOo**

**Estelle : I may be a bit evil, sorry ; )**

**Shinshinjane : Yes, always cliffhangers... : p As I already said, I'll update once a week, no less, no more as it allows me to deliver correct work (in my opinion at least^^) and will avoid any break. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's show time !**

* * *

On his side, Shinichi neutralized the IT engineer with the stun watch from afar but, before he could even approach the computer, the boss took it under his arm and rushed for a side exit. The detective was going to go after him when he heard Saguru's cry.

"- Watch out !"

The dark-haired teen turned his head to see Kuroba and Aoko falling down the passageway, a man emptying his gun at them.

"- Kid !"

Saguru saw a soccer ball at high speed hit the head of the man, who was reloading his gun, and was properly knocked out.

"- Check on them and keep me informed through the badge, I'm going after their boss !" Shinichi asked him, turning to the side exit.

_"Please be both alright"_ he prayed.

* * *

After slamming the door, Shinichi found himself in a maze of containers.

"- Hey, Kudô ? May I ask fer an update ? I'm blind here ya know." Heiji asked through his badge.

"- We secured Aoko-san but Kid is down, don't know how serious it is, Hakuba is looking after him. " the teen answered as he was running straight in front of him, hoping the man took the fastest way out.

"- ... Noted. Ya neutralized all the bad guys ?

\- Nah, I'm chasing their Boss.. I just hope he didn't... "

Heiji heard a thump noise and a grunt, followed by the sound of something heavy falling on the ground. And then nothing.

"- What was that ? Kudô ? Kudô?!"

The East detective wasn't answering.

_"Shit ! Lucky I remembered to take these... _" Heiji took out of his pocket the spare glasses Shinichi gave him during the last heist. Glasses on the nose, he rushed outside, armed with his bokken, in direction of the red glow on the radar.

_"Faster !"_ Heiji's ears rang from the effort of being running at full speed after his recent injury but he ignored it.

* * *

"- What a surprise" the man said, bending on the teen to lift his knocked out head to him. "Kudô Shinichi, aren't you supposed to be deceased ? You rising from the dead will certainly interest some of our scientists..."

"- What have ya done to Kudô ?! Stay away from him ! " The dark-skinned detective was heavily panting but he nevertheless took a fighting stance with his bokken up. RUM rose to his feet and looked at his enemy.

"- You started this fight" the man pointed with a calm voice. "But don't worry, I just knocked him out a bit, with this pipe here", he said, collecting the said-item which was on the ground near him.

He suddenly threw himself to the teen. Taken by surprise, Heiji barely managed to protect his head, as the man was aiming for it but he quickly changed his target and gave the teen a strong blow in the stomach. The Osakan couldn't refrain a pained grunt, as he felt his not-so-old wound re-opening under the shock and starting to bleed again. Even with the wound, he still had his kendo skills for him but the guy had such an insane strength : he clearly had the upper hand and he knew how to take advantage of it. The West detective parried 2 or 3 other attacks with less and less stamina before being thrown off by a blow on the head he couldn't completely deflect. As his glasses flew away from the shock, his back harshly hit a container and he fell to the ground along it, leaving a bloody trail on the metal wall, unable to get up.

The man came closer to check on his opponent.

As the moonlight finally shined on the scene once the clouds moved away, Heiji's eyes widened when he was able to see the man's face.

"- Ya're ... that Matsumoto guy ... from MPD !" he panted.

"- Hattory Heiji..." The Superintendent said with a nasty smile, letting go of the pipe on the floor and getting his gun out. "Your father will be devastated, I'll ensure to give him my condolences... " and he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Saguru rushed down the stairs towards the Thief and saw Aoko trying and succeeding in freeing herself from the remains of the broken glider. She then turned to the teen lying on the floor next to her.

"- Kid ?" she asked, holding against her the arm she hurt during the fall. "Kaito ?" she tried again, with a softer voice.

"- Aoko-kun, are you alright ?" Saguru enquired as he came by.

"- Just scratches but Kaito.. Kid... Whoever..." her voice broke as she didn't know how to call her best friend anymore..

"- Don't worry, I know who he is" the detective confirmed when he saw she was distressed." When you were kidnapped, he came to find me..." He felt to add at her astonished face.

The blond-haired removed the glider's cloth and several fragments to reach the teen. The Thief was covered in dust but he didn't seem heavily harmed. Saguru looked for a pulse on his throat and found a steady one.

"- Luckily, it looks like the bulletproof vest did its job. He's just passed out.

\- Bulletproof vest ?" Aoko looked at him with surprise.

"- We all wore one, we knew this whole operation wasn't going to be a child play."

He was carefully unbuttoning Kid's vest to check on his injuries when he felt the teen started to move.

"- Hands off the goods, Tantei-san" Kaito grinned, trying to push him aside. "Ouch...

\- Glad to see you're awake, Kuroba-kun.

\- Kaito ! I though you... " Aoko sobbed.

"- Ahouko... I'm the Kid, I'm immortal ! Though it looks like it doesn't stop me from fainting" he joked, as if nothing happened.

She stared at him, not really about to joke.

" - Aoko, I'm... " he started, darkening at her serious face.

She looked away, with a sad look.

"- Excuse me for interrupting your quarrel but, Kuroba-kun, do you think you can pop up some disguise ?" Hakuba asked. "I hear sirens approaching, the police will soon be here and I'm sure you don't want to be seen in this outfit...

\- I can at least go back to Kuroba Kaito" he stated, quickly removing the white hat, monocle, gloves and the too obvious red tie. When he took off his white vest, some moves seemed painful to him, making Saguru frown.

"- You're alright ?

\- I may have bruised some ribs, even with the bulletproof jacket...

\- Ok, well, just sit a bit longer, I'll conceal the other overwhelming proofs ...

\- Who'd have thought you'd act one day as an accomplice ?" the Thief grinned at the detective.

"- ... And I'd advise you to look a bit more Kuroba-like, as the smile you have on your face really reeks too much of Kaitou Kid. ".

The blond-haired got up to hide the clothes and what remained of the glider into some wood box in a corner of the room and turned back to the other two just in time to see the elite forces approaching the building by a broken window.

" MPD, this place is surrounded, surrender yourself and you won't be harmed ! ", a man voice declared through a megaphone.

"- Give me back my Aoko !" they could hear in the background.

"- Dad ? I'm here, I'm safe !" the girl answered loudly, getting up.

Nakamori-keibu rushed into the warehouse, his men at his heels, and threw himself on tears at his daughter.

"- Aokoooo" he cried, "Are you alright? What happened to you ? We received a call from a man named Hattori but I didn't dare to believe it was true he found you...

\- I'm back now, dad " she assured with a wide smile to comfort him.

"- But look at your arm, you're hurt ! I need medics here, call an ambulance !" he shouted to one of his men.

"- We need a doctor for Kaito, he's also wounded..." she added, pointing the teen at her feet.

The policeman crouched to the Thief who was still sitting on the floor. " Are you hurt somewhere, Kaito-kun ?

\- Nothing serious, don't worry about me, it's just some bruises, I think we were really lucky ..."

Nakamori-keibu got up, greeting Hakuba with a nod and looked around him at the men on the floor.

"-You fought a true commando here..." he stated with surprise as he noticed the guns. "As Kaito-kun said, it's pure luck none of you was killed... ".The inspector was half admiring, half scolding. " There wasn't another one with you ? That Hattori whatever ?" He suddenly remembered.

"- He's hiding not far away, I'll ask him to come." Saguru confirmed, grabbing the badge on his turtleneck black sweater. "Hattori-kun ? Everything is over, you can come and join us. Hattori-kun ?" He asked once again, starting to get worried as the teen didn't answer.

As he didn't really pay attention to whatever was said through the badges after Kaito was shot, he wondered if he missed something.

"- Oh, these are some kind of walkie-talkies we used for short-range communication " the blond-haired explained at Nakamori-keibu's interrogative look. " But Hattori-kun isn't answering... He isn't at his full strength right now and one of those men managed to escape us, I'm afraid he could be in danger..."

_"And same goes for Kudô" _he thought, but the detective had insisted in not mentioning him to the police, which wasn't really that surprising with the Organisation on his tail.

" - Agents" the policeman ordered to the elite squad, "we have a suspect on the run and a teen missing, search the docks !

\- I'm coming with them" Saguru volunteered, "as I can communicate with Hattori-kun on short-range, it'll be faster to find him.

\- Be careful" the man advised.

"- See you later."

* * *

After checking the container Heiji was hidden beforehand without finding him, Saguru guided the research team he joined through the side exit : if Hattori wasn't in his hideout anymore, it probably meant something happened to Kudô and he went to help him. So the best starting point was to follow the dark-haired detective's trail : he was almost sure that, if he found one, he may find the other. He just hoped that silence from the badges came from the fact they chased the man too far away and went out of range.

"- There's something on the floor" one of the men noticed after a 5 minutes' walk, bending down to retrieve it. "Oh, it's just glasses...

\- May I look at them ?"

_"They look like Conan's glasses, maybe Kudô-kun has been here ?"_ Hakuba thought, looking around. _"He wouldn't be too far aw... "_

"- Hattori-kun !" he worried, spotting the Osakan lying against a container.

"- Call some medics here !" one of the policemen ordered, who also noticed the teen and the blood around him.

Saguru rushed at the West detective and crouched to check on him. He was breathing with difficulties, a trickle of blood coming out of the corner his mouth and a nasty bump starting to appear on the side of his head. As he saw the teen's left side was bleeding, the blond-haired lifted his sweater, to notice the bullet-proof vest was intact, meaning it was the Osakan's previous wound that opened again. The teen obviously also had been shot in the torso, as a bullet was sticked into the vest, in the heart area. Once again tonight, Saguru thanked the bullet-proof jackets. He tried to loosen it, to allow Heiji to breath more easily but the teen had a groan when he started to untie it. The pain made him open his eyes, barely conscious.

"- Hattori-kun ?" the blond-haired called gently

" - ... Hakuba ?" he panted painfully.

"- What happened ? Where are Kudô-kun and the one he was chasing ?

\- He... took him...

\- Who took who ?

\- Their boss... He's..." Heiji suddenly tensed up and looked into Saguru's eyes. "Don' trust the MPD, ... ya need ta go ta the FBI... ask Hakase for Okiya... if ya don' find Kudô... in the 24h limit he's so screwed... " The Osakan closed his eyes due to the effort.

"- Hattori-kun , is there any problem with the MPD ?" Saguru worried. "Don't you dare pass out on me now, I need to know, my father works there ! Who was that man ? Hattori-kun ?!"

* * *

The blond-haired detective waited impatiently for the medics to arrive, as Heiji didn't regain consciousness in spite of his attempts to wake him up. He had discreetly pocketed the glasses, hoping they could help him to find Kudô later. After what seemed hours, he heard the ambulances approaching.

"- Over here !" he shouted to the medics. "And there are 2 more injured in the warehouse.

\- Can anyone lead us there ?" one of them asked.

"- I will " a policeman offered.

\- Let's go."

Two medics followed the law enforcement officer while the 2 others started to look at Hattori. Saguru couldn't prevent himself to notice their faces darkening as they checked the teen's vital signs.  
"- Is he going to be alright ?" The half brit enquired.

"- We need to take him to the hospital as soon as possible, it looks serious. Can you help us with the stretcher ?

\- Of course."

* * *

The medic nodded to Saguru before closing the door on Heiji's strecher. After one last glance to the departing ambulance, the blond haired teen turned to the other one where Kaito and Aoko were going through a check up. The girl was keeping a hand in front of her eyes to protect them from the ambulance's lights as she was quarrelling with her friend.

"- What, you're not coming to the hospital ?! But ... I'll stay with you then !

\- Nah, Aoko, you can't, you need to have an x-ray on that arm, you heard the doc, it may be broken. " Kaito refused, shaking his head. "Go and keep an eye on Hattori for us.

\- And you ? Didn't you fainted ? It could be a concussion you know...

\- It was just an act, don't worry about me !

\- Bakaito ! You made me worry... " she pointed, sulking ."Understood, I'm going into that ambulance.

\- Good girl...

\- But sooner or later, we'll need to have that chat" Aoko softly added, looking into his eyes.

"- I promise. I'll explain you everything."

After one last glance at him, she got in the ambulance, leaving Kaito and Saguru with Nakamori-keibu and his men.

"- It's getting late, do you need a lift home ?" he asked to the 2 teens.

"- Not exactly home but I would need to go to Beika, for personal business, if you don't mind" Saguru answered.

"- So do I." the Thief added, giving a discreet blink of complicity to the detective.

"- Ok. Hey you" he called one of his men with a sign of the hand, "could you drive them somewhere ? They'll tell you where to.

\- Yes, sir !" The policeman turned to the teens to invite them to follow him to his car.

"- Just one moment please, I need to retrieve Hattori-kun's computer." the half-brit explained.

* * *

"- You sure you're going to be alright, Kuroba-kun ?" Saguru inquired with a low voice, as they were both sitting at the back of a police car heading to Beika. "That was quite a fall and you don't look that good.

\- It's not the first time I hit my head you know...

\- Oh, it explains everything then, Kid.

\- Shhh, keep it down... "Kaito said, looking with concern at the cop. He seemed to come to a realization and looked back at Saguru in surprise. "Was that a joke ? Since when do you have a sense of humor ?

\- I'm half British, we are renowned for it, you know.

\- Oh yea, I've heard some rumours about British humour..." Kaito giggled. "Ouch, I shouldn't have done that" he immediately regretted, holding his ribs.

"- You should have gone to the hospital" the blond-haired detective sighted.

"- I wish I had the luxury of taking some rest but I can't" the Thief said with suddenly a serious face. "Kudô has been kidnapped because he was helping me. It's almost 11 pm, in 18 hours, he'll be back as Conan in front of the persons he dreads the most and the cover he worked so hard on during those last 6 months will be blown up. I can't let it happen.

\- We both want to avoid that, Kuroba-kun... " Saguru agreed. "We'll find him !

\- I'm counting on your detective talents there, Tantei-san" Kaito smiled.

* * *

The policeman stopped in front of Agasa's house and left with a small bow after the boys gave a quick thank. The inventor opened the door, a worried look on his face.

"- At least, you're back, come in ! ... Kuroba-kun ?" He threw a quick look outside. " Where are Shinichi-kun and Hattori-kun ?

\- I'm sorry" the Thief sighted as he closed the door behind him, "we retrieved Aoko but Kudô has been kidnapped during the operation... Hattori sent us here, saying you could provide us safe help, as MPD wasn't to be trusted anymore...

\- Kidnapped ?" The teens heard Haibara's shaking voice. The girl had frozen at the word as she came to check if everyone was alright when the bell rang. "By Them ? But what if...

\- Yes" Kaito confirmed, "we know, we have 18 hours to find him..."

Ai was trembling, her eyes widened in shock and fear. "That idiot" she kept muttering for herself.

" - Are you alright, Haibara-san ?" the Thief inquired.

"- I just can't believe... "

All of them fell silent for a moment.

"- Last time I came here with Kudô" Kaito remembered, "you said you would be able to edit an hideouts list from that chip, did you succeed ?

\- Yes..." The little scientist took back control of herself. "Hattori-kun worked on it all day, it should be on the comp I lent him. Where is he by the way ? It would be easier for him to find what we need.

\- He's been sent to the hospital, in serious condition" Saguru announced with a pained look, while Agasa and Haibara's faces darkened. "Aoko-kun will keep us informed about his status... We have to concentrate on finding Kudô-kun.

\- I have the comp" Kaito said, "could you lend us a hand ?"

* * *

"- Ok, looks like Hattori-kun classified all the information by categories" Haibara noticed, as the teens were around her, checking the screen over her small shoulders. "The hideouts seem to be ranked by the kind of material present onsite and the cities they're in...

\- What kind of classification are there for the hideouts ?" Saguru asked the girl.

"- Medical-care, Research, Formation, Meetings, Weapon storage, others.

\- Where do you think they took Kudô in ?" Kaito wondered.

"- As he'd be the only known person to live after taking the APTX 4869, very probably research or medical-care.

\- I think it would be safe to restrict to Tokyo area, how many are there ?" The half-brit enquired.

"- 4. 3 to treat the injured and one for research, one I already worked in on a few occasions."

Both teens looked at her with bewilderment.

"- You what ?" Kaito asked.

"- I used to be one of Them... Due to some disagreements, I tried to quit but couldn't so I ended up taking my own drug, the same Kudô-kun had.

\- ... Just how many secrets Kudô-kun holds in his hands ?" Saguru wondered, rolling his eyes.

"- Hey, so it means we have the same age ?" Kaito pointed out with a wide smile.

"- Don't you go and imagine anything, Thief, I'm not interested.

\- So cold..." he said, falsely taken aback.

"- Could you just focus on what we are working on, Kuroba-kun ?" Saguru scolded. "Haibara-san, you know Them, which one would They chose ?

\- ... Research, I think." Ai answered after a brief pause." We are speaking about the Organization's new drug, they can't let the job to the normal medics. It has to be a specialist, someone who would have taken up the torch after me. And that someone would be in a research centre.

\- Then we need to go there" Saguru decided.

"- I don't think you understand of scary is this Organization... Look at you, you were 4 to leave tonight and only 2 to came back. That's what They do, no matter who you are, your age, your sex, They attack without distinction. The research centre is a central place to them, it's heavily guarded, there were at least 20 guards for the dozen of scientists working there when I visited 8 months ago.

\- Which means if Kudô-kun is here, he won't be able to escape alone" Saguru pointed. "And we don't want to go just the both of us, we'll get there with the FBI. Though having someone like you who knows the place would be the greatest advantage.

\- What do you think of a romantic walk there?" Kaito winked at her.

"- No" she refused without giving it a though, shaking her head. "Everyone in that centre think I'm dead, and I'd like to keep it at that. I can't just walk in, you know.

\- Let me help with a disguise !

\- I... I just..." Ai hesitated, chilling from the idea of being surrounded by the men she has tried to escape all her life. Both of the teens were looking at her with expectation.

"- I just can't !" She snapped, going down from her chair and rushing to her lab, locking the door after her.

* * *

" - You know..." Agasa said, coming closer to both teens as he heard the commotion, "They killed Ai-kun's family, you can't resent her for being afraid.

\- Even if I have the spare glasses to try and find Kudô-kun in that research centre, she's still our best asset to retrieve him as she knows the place, Agasa-san" Saguru pointed.

"- I'm going to speak with her.

\- Thank you. Just one last thing, Hattori-kun said we should ask you about someone named Okiya.

\- Okiya ? He won't be hard to find, he's living next door, in Shinichi-kun's house" Agasa answered the teens brow. "Indeed, he's perhaps the one you need... " He added after a short reflexion.


	7. Heist Arc - Chapter 7 - Looking for help

**Sorry, after all those long chapters, the 2 next ones are rather short. **

**But we are approaching the epilogue of this part : )**

**I updated the chapters title, since this story is going to be a long one, I wanted it to be more organized... ^^;**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**oOo**

**Estelle : I'm doing my best to entertain my readers, glad you like it ; )**

**Shinshinjane : I hope so ! **

* * *

**Chapter 7 : Looking for help**

* * *

Shinichi was slowly regaining consciousness. After opening his eyes and noticing with relief he was still in his adult body, he tried to turn his head to check his surroundings.

_"Ouch" _he thought when the move hurt him. "_Ah right, I remember, the guy got me by surprise and hit me with some metallic stick... I have this impression of déjà-vu, I really should look behind me when I go after bad guys.. Ugh, I just hope I don't have a concussion, head hurts like hell..."_

The teen was sitting on a chair, in the middle of a small room, his hands and feet solidly tied to it. He still had his glasses on the nose but his sweater and the bullet proof vest had been removed so he was a bit cold or, if he was unlucky, it was already the fever preceding a change. The fact he could feel the floor with his feet was reassuring but he didn't know how much time was left before he came back to Conan's body and he and his relatives would be so much in danger if he changed back to a boy here... He tried to move a bit, to see if he could free himself in any way but, no use, the one who tied him clearly wasn't at his first try...

The room was really dark, there was no other light than the one that came from under the door.

_"An underground hideout maybe ?" _he thought. _"No good news, it'll be harder to find me, even with the radar... Well, that means I have to manage on my own and to hope for them to do a mistake."_

* * *

"- Yes ?" A blond haired man opened the door, in a dressing gown, a silk scarf around his neck. He stared at the Thief, a bit surprised. "What happened to you, Shinichi-kun? You look like a mess.

\- Can you let us in ?" Kaito said with Kudô's voice.

"- No need to ask, this is your... Hey, wait a second" he commanded once the teens entered and were fully visible thanks to the light. "You're not Shinichi-kun !

\- Please excuse our rudeness but we are some friends of his, that's for him we're here tonight.

\- Please close the door, it's unsafe" The Thief added with an uneasy look outside.

"- I hope it's not a prank... Let's go to the living room. What did you mean, you're here for him ?" Subaru asked once seated in a big old fashioned armchair. "Is he alright ?

\- He's been kidnapped. By the Organization" Kaito said, looking at Okiya's face. "Seeing your reaction, you know Them.

\- Hattori-kun told us to come and see you, he said you were FBI" Saguru clarified.

"- You're not the usual pranksters, eh ? Let's imagine I'm indeed related to the FBI... could you just explain your story ?"

* * *

"- That's why we need the FBI... " Kaito concluded with a sigh.

He had explained the most he could, trying to avoid giving too many sensitive information like his identity or Conan's.

"- I'll have a few questions for Shinichi-kun about that chip he was supposed to give us back last weekend..." Okiya frowned.

"- Will you help us?" The Thief inquired, unable to wait any longer for the man to take a decision.

"- Of course. Shinichi-kun did a lot for me, I can't leave him in such a pinch. When you said you may have a guide, you meant the girl next door ?

\- How..." Saguru's jaw dropped.

"- I'm not sure to be implied in every secret Shinichi-kun holds but I do know about APTX 4869.

\- Then you understand why we are in a hurry : Kudô-kun had the antidote 7 hours ago, we need to find him within the 24 hours limit" the half brit detective stated with a concerned look.

"- Got it, let me give some calls." Okiya turned his head to Kaito. "In the meanwhile, you may want to put some other clothes, you're really dirty... You'll find some in the first room on the left upstairs, I guess Shinichi-kun wouldn't mind.

\- Thank you" Kaito accepted with a nod.

"- Anytime, Kaitou Kid."

The Thief stared at him

"- I'm also a detective, you know. Your white trousers and assorted shoes aren't the regular clothes for an undercover operation, even one organized by amateurs. And Shinichi-kun told me you would probably have a face similar to his, seeing how you could use easily disguise as him. The resemblance is quite striking also, you could have been brothers.

\- I remember now why playing with detectives can be dangerous for my heart..." the Kid shrugged with a small smile while Saguru was smirking at him. "Should I expect handcuffs once the rescue mission is over ?

\- Detectives love answers, that's all. Sharing them is another hobby and I don't feel like it, I'll just forget this little chat.

\- Thanks."

* * *

Shinichi suddenly heard a commotion just in front of his cell and the noise of some people fighting. The door banged open, to let a well-know policeman go in the room, a bit short breathed.

"- Kudô-kun, are you alright ?" Matsumoto asked as he spotted the teen.

"- Superintendent Matsumoto ? What are you doing...

\- We were tipped about that hideout they may took you in so we decided to rush in..." he explained as he was coming near the teen to untie him. " But still, it was hard to believe you've been kidnapped, as we all thought you were dead. What happened, did they sequestrate you for half a year ?

\- Nah, I was just keeping a low profile, my kidnapping is quite recent...

\- Low profile? You disappeared to everyone... You were hidden by someone?

\- I was wondering what was your point..." Shinichi smirked at the man. "Let stop this little game, I know you work with Them and I have no names to give for the traitors of your kind.

\- ...Such a nasty word" the policeman smiled. "How did you unmask me ?

\- Superintendent Matsumoto... No, let's call you RUM, according to your features. Once is a coincidence, twice is suspect" Shinichi pointed, getting a surprised look from the man when he heard the codename "RUM" . "And I must say I had some doubts after I heard what happened in Osaka.

\- Bah, it was worth a try... I had just forgot you've always been the smart one, boy, to find out who I am" he laughed, not really sounding disappointed or angry at the fact the teen unmasked him. His laugh turned to an evil grin " Oh, by the way, speaking of Osaka, I think you're referring to your colleague Hattori Heiji-kun when you said you heard from the case ? Was he your friend ?

\- _Was_ ?!

\- I'm sorry to inform you I had to kill him." he explained, his face not looking sorry at all. " I did not wish to go to such an extent but, as he was trying to stop me taking you, he has seen my face..."

Shinichi froze, unable to believe what the man was saying. Not Hattori... He couldn't accept it... A mix of different feelings swirled into him : sadness, anger, guilt, all succeeding at high speed.

"- As to you, I guess I won't do the job this time but the result will be the same. The medical team needs to work a bit on you. An APTX 4869 survivor, that's new, they were quite interested, one of them is even rushing here right now despite being past after midnight ! Be proud, as you'll die for science. This is goodbye, Kudô-kun."

And he left.

In his stead, two men entered and untied Shinichi unceremoniously. He barely resisted as they made him stand and walk through the research centre, still numb under the shock of learning Heiji's death. He blinked back to his senses when he entered the medical section, with its strong light and white walls. It was clearly the middle of the night, as they didn't meet anyone and almost all lights in the rooms on the side of the corridor were switched off. One of the men unlocked a door, while the second was holding Shinichi's arms in his back. From where he was, Shinichi could spot a clinic bed, with monitors and all, and decided he didn't like the idea. He tried to look as harmless as possible and offered no resistance when he and his jailer went in.

"- Come on, give him the sedative, I don't want to stay here all night... " the man behind him asked with a dull voice, giving a bored look at his colleague who was searching something in the drug's cupboard.

Feeling the man behind was inattentive of him, Shinichi suddenly kicked him to break free and rushed through the door, too fast for the men to stop him. He had noticed when he entered the key was still on the knob, so he slammed the door and locked it behind him.

_"That was the easy part" _he thought_" now, where's the way out ? "_

He carefully walked through the medical section and was back to the other part of the basement in less than a minute. He stopped for a few moments.

"- See you tomorrow", he heard to his right.

A woman with her coat on and a bag on her shoulder crossed the hallway while the teen was hiding in a dark corner. He decided to follow her, as she was very probably heading to the exit and indeed, after a few turns, she ended in front of an elevator. Shinichi let her go up and then, after one last glance to check his surroundings, called the elevator and went back hiding while waiting for it.

_"Come on, faster..." _ he prayed as he couldn't stand the wait_._

At the "ding", he rushed to the door, noticing too late it wasn't empty.

Without believing his eyes, he recognized Bourbon face who smiled back at him and welcomed him with a punch in the stomach. Shinichi fell on his knees trying to catch his breath, holding his ribs.

"- Kudô-kun, glad to meet you at last ! When I heard you decided to pay us a visit, I could resist to see you face, _little _Tantei-san_"_, Amuro grinned, bending to him with a mocking look.

Alerted at the way the man had said "little", the detective looked back at him with fear in his eyes. _"He knows"._

* * *

Kaito finally decided to have a shower and was drying himself when someone knocked on the door.

"- Can I come in ? " Saguru asked from outside.

"- One sec', unless you're into naked men... " The Thief smirked at the idea, grabbing his underwear and a clean trouser.

"- ... I'll pass," The detective's bored voice answered.

A towel on his hair, the Kid opened the door on Saguru, who lifted a first aid med-kit in front of him.

"- What's that for ?" He raised a brow at the blond-haired.

"- Let me have a look at your back.

\- It's just bruises you know, it's not the first time..." Kaito sighted, starting to ruffle his hair with the towel to dry them.

"- We both know it's not," Saguru stated, sweeping aside the Thief's objections. "Sit."

After the detective patched him up and a pair of painkillers to stop the throb from a bump starting to appear on the back of his head, Kaito had to admit he was now feeling and looking quite better than when he arrived one hour before as he entered the living room.

"- Ok, I could get us a few men for tonight operation" Okiya announced the teens. " They'll be ready in 3 hours, sorry it can't be shorter, they need to gather the material. I also sent a friend to keep an eye on Hattori-kun and Nakamori-san at the hospital. I'm perhaps over thinking things but it is safer, as they are now known of the Organization. She'll be transferring them to a secured area of the hospital.

\- Good idea, we can never be cautious enough with those men it seems..." Saguru nodded at the green eyed man. "In the meanwhile, we'd better go and convince our guide next door then."

* * *

"- It's us again" Kaito said, opening Agasa's door after a knock.

"- Welcome back ! " they heard from the kitchen.

"- Any progress ?" Saguru asked to the professor as he spotted him.

"- Go and see by yourselves, she's in the lab."

The 3 men went down the stairs and Kaito opened the door. An auburn-haired woman was here, in dark trousers and an assorted blouse, working on her computer.

"- It took you forever to come back..." she complained, turning her chair to them.

Both teens were staring at her with surprise.

"-Haibara-san ?" Saguru guessed, getting a nod from the teenage girl.

"- So, what do you think of our guide ?" Kaito joked, turning to Okiya who just passed through the door, "gives you the will to follow her to hell, right ?"

Before he could even answer, Shiho eyes widened of fear when she noticed the man.

"- What is he doing here ?!" she snapped at the teens. "You've exposed us all by bringing him, you fools ! He's one of T... "

"- I'm not one of Them, Shiho-san, " the man stated with a calm voice as the girl was taking a few step back.

"- How do you know... " Shiho was even more scared than before.

"- Could you guys go out ?" Okiya sighted at her reaction." I promise I'm not dangerous, please trust Shinichi-kun's and Hattori-kun's judgement.

\- Uh... "Kaito hesitated, looking at the both of them. "Well, sorry but it seems difficult to let that lady alone, just at the moment, above all when she has a face like that.

\- I can't oppose to that..." Okiya shrugged. "Well, then I'll explain in front of your bodyguards, Shiho-san.

\- Stop calling me like that ! How do you know that name ?!

\- First, let me take those away." The blond-haired man took off his mask and voice-changer necklace.

"- Moroboshi Dai ?

\- This was the name I gave to your sister, yes. And Okiya Subaru was the identity Shinichi-kun and his mother built for me to hide from the Organization. My real name is Shuichi Akai.

\- Akai ?" the Kid noted. "The FBI sniper Kudô was talking to during the heist last week ? "

The man nodded at him.

"- Yes, the very FBI agent who manipulated my sister to infiltrate the Organization" Shiho spitted, recovering from the shock." The very one who got her killed for his _mission_. You're just like Them, no wonder you have the same smell !

\- I can't express how sorry I am it turned like this, Shiho-san."

Saguru invited Kaito with a sign of the head to go upstairs, now that it was clear no one was in danger and they both climbed the steps as silently as possible so they could settle their quarrel with the intimacy they needed.

"- Of course you can't, you destroyed the last family I had ! And look at the result, the Organization is still alive and well, doing their despicable business as if nothing happened ! And you're just hiding, your tail between your legs...

\- I'm not hiding, I'm just on another assignment, one someone I cared about gave me.

\- What assignment could be more important than destroying Them ?!

\- Protecting you.

\- What... Wait ? What's this non-sense you're blabbering about ?" Shiho asked, taken by surprise by Akai's declaration.

"- A few days before being killed, Akemi sent me a text... She knew something was going to happen, I think... She asked me to watch over you in her stead if anything happened to her" Akai said with a sad look. "So once I met Shinichi-kun and knew you were able to escape Them, I had to come here.

\- She... That's why Kudô-kun tried to get you in Hakase's house first ?

\- I asked him, I had to. But as you panicked and seemed really scared of me, he let me settle in his house. Akemi was also someone very important to me, Shiho-san, I want you to believe me.

\- Onee-san... " Shiho had tears in her eyes." Leave me alone a moment... please" she asked, trying to keep a straight face but knowing it wouldn't last any longer.

"- Sure."

* * *

"- How did it go ?" Agasa asked to Akai as he came out of the stairs.

"- Now, it's her decision to accept me or not" he shrugged.

"- Want to grab something to eat or a coffee in the meanwhile ? The night will be long. The boys are already at it in the kitchen, it's just sandwiches though.

\- Perfect to me."

Akai was finishing his second cup of coffee when Shiho entered the kitchen, some papers in the hand.

"- Leave some coffee for the others," she commented when she spotted him. " And make me some place. I drew an approximate map of the centre, we need to come up with some strategy if we want to go and save Kudô-kun."

The four of them gave her an interrogative look, surprised by her attitude toward Akai and that "we" which implied she was planning to come.

"- I can't afford to lose time to fret about what happened, "Shiho explained. "What's important now it's we got an irresponsible meitantei to save.

\- How long left do we have, Akai-san ?" Saguru enquired, turning his head to the man.

"- We meet my team in 2 hours. Let's give that map a look."

* * *

A few instants after being hit by Bourbon, Shinichi heard precipitated footsteps behind him and 2 pairs of hands caught him and forced him to his feet without care. He recognized with a glimpse the two guards he locked just before.

"- What were you guys doing ? He's just a kid and he escaped you ?" Amuro scolded them. "Bring him back to the lab and sedate him !

\- Yes sir !"

Back to the medical room, the teen noticed a man in a white blouse was waiting, very probably for him.

"- Ah", the scientist smiled, "I was wondering where was my new little lab rat. Use the restraints to tie him to the bed, will you ?"

Shinichi tried to resist but only collected a few more hits in the process. Once he couldn't move anymore, feeling defenceless as he was lying on his back, Shinichi saw the medic inserting an IV in his arm and he suddenly felt numb.

_"It can't end like this..." _he cursed, feeling he was losing consciousness,_" with Hattori killed and me finishing like a lab rat without a proper chat with Ran ... I won't accept it..."_

* * *

**Hmmm it looks a bit cliffy, ne ? ^^;**

**Sorry ... XD**


	8. Heist Arc - Chapter 8 - Infiltration

**One last chapter of action before one or two calm chapters in the story.**

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT : As I don't think Valentine Day should only be couple-dedicated, I decided to make you a present and to ****publish exceptionally next ****chapter on next Saturday !**

**Chapter 10 will be on next Wednesday, no changes.**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Estelle : Mountain-hanger ? I like the idea xD**

* * *

**Chapter 8 : Infiltration**

* * *

"- This is no child play, you know" Akai pointed out to the teens around him." We'll be outnumbered."

All of them were 2 blocks away from the BO's research facility. The FBI agent had presented them the intervention's team's members, the only agents he had been able to contact that late in the night : 4 men and his boss, James Black. The 5 professionals were busy equipping themselves near of one of their cars, while Akai was checking the last points with the teens near of the other.

"- I'm aware of it" Saguru answered, looking into the agent's eyes.

"- We're all aware of it, FBI-kun" Kaito added using Kid's mocking tone, but his look was dead serious.

"- And you need me" Shiho stated with a bored voice, as if it was already obvious the subject was closed and they'll be all coming.

"- You know I'm going against all my principles," the man sighted, "especially about you, Shiho-san.

\- I'm in, whatever you say.

\- I had to try... Ok, well, at least, you will all wear a hood, I don't want any of our faces to be spotted. No discussion.

\- So unsexy" Kaito said with a disgusted face, taking by the tips of his finger the hood Akai was holding to him. "What will my fans think ?!

\- As if you had any fans, the crowd at your heist are just passers-by..." Saguru pointed with an unimpressed look.

"- Are you jealous ?" the Thief asked with a smirk.

"- Just put your hoods, both of you " Akai interrupted, as he and Shiho already put theirs. "We go in 10 minu... " He stopped, feeling his phone vibrating in his jacket. "Call from the hospital" he explained, taking off his hood and stepping a bit away. " Yes, Jodie ?"

After a few minutes, the FBI agent came back, with a serious face.

"- What's up ?" the Thief asked as he saw his mood was a bit down.

"- Jodie secured your two friends in a protected area of the hospital. Aoko-san arm is alright, it's twisted, not broken, she should recover in 1 or 2 weeks.

\- And Hattori-kun ?" Saguru enquired, feeling the problem might be there.

"- Apparently, he was shot at point blank range with a high calibre gun... Even with the bullet proof vest, important damages to the rib cage were done. Add to that the loss of blood from the previous wound which re-opened, it seems complicated... The doctors seem to say the next 12h are critical. "

Concern could be read on all the faces as they all fell silent at the news.

"- Once again, we can't do anything about it... Let's focus on the current mission" Kaito said, interrupting everyone's dark thoughts. "I don't want anybody else hurt today because he's worrying on something else, above all when this mess is my fault...

\- The only one's fault is the Organization" Shiho pointed out, shaking her head at the Thief's self accusation." Let's go and save Kudô-kun. Will you provide us with any kind of weapon or protection ?" she asked, turning to the FBI agent.

"- Bulletproof vests and guns with silencer" Akai stated, opening the nearby car's trunk." Try not to hurt yourselves or anyone of our side with those, it was hard to convince James to let you carry weapons. And Shiho-san, I want you behind me every minute of this operation. Time to equip !"

* * *

"- Ok let's go" James said to the strangely assorted group in front of him. "Good luck, gents ... " he turned to Shiho... "and lady. And don't forget, our goal is to be fast and silent : we retrieve the hostage and then rush out as soon as we can. Stay packed as much as possible."

They silently moved to the building's door and Akai opened, making a sign of the hand to invite everyone in once he quickly checked the insides.

"- The hidden elevator is here" Shiho pointed what looked like an old wall on her left.

"- We won't fit all in there" Kaito noticed, as he saw the elevator open in front of them.

"- That's the only way" the auburn-haired girl explained with a shrug.

"- If there isn't any choice... As this is a dangerous part, I'll go with my men first" James stated with a firm voice, " Akai and the young ones, you will come by the second trip.

\- You need to push the 2nd basement floor's button, he should be on this floor" the scientist specified to the grey-haired agent.

The teens waited for what seemed to be ages until the elevator came back. Once in, they all took out their guns and flattened themselves against the walls when the doors opened underground.

"- Clear" they heard James say.

"- Everything all right ?" Akai asked.

"- Nothing we couldn't deal with" his boss answered, looking at his team hiding in a nearby closet the 4 men they neutralized beforehand."Ok, you two stay here, we need someone to protect our exit. Contact us if any problem.

\- Yes sir !

\- Do you have anything on the radar, Hakuba-kun ? " The green-eyed agent enquired, turning his head to the blond-haired teen.

"- One moment please, I'm switching it on" Saguru stated, putting with difficulties the spare glasses on his nose because of his hood and touching their frame to turn them on. "Ok, the signal isn't perfectly clear but I've got something on the right, it looks far away...

\- As we guessed earlier, they've put him in the medical wing" Shiho confirmed. "Let's head there."

Akai and another agent were opening the way while James and the last member of the team were closing it, to keep the teens in a safe perimeter.

"- Next turn on the left" the auburn haired said.

Most of them had turned when the first gunshot echoed, a deafening sound in the silence of the centre. Hakuba, James and one of his men who were last, rushed behind the wall to protect themselves of whoever was attacking them. Saguru took a glimpse at their pursuers : there were 3 of them, one had a still smoking gun in his hands and his face was familiar but...

"- It looks like we have some mouses here... " he stated.

"- Superintendent Matsumoto ?! " Saguru finally recognized him. "You're.. you're one of them ?

\- I don't think I have the honour of knowing you, young man."

Leaving the wall's protection before anyone could stop him, Hakuba took his hood off and looked back at him with an angry face.

"- If it's not Hakuba-kun !" the Superintendent smiled in his own twisted way, while Kaito jumped to get the surprise-struck blond-haired back into a safe place with a scolding look. "Hattori-kun, then you, a lot of my colleagues will need my condolences tomorrow.

\- You're the one who... ?" Kaito began from behind the corner, clenching his fists in anger.

" - And I do recognize our Kid Thief's voice ! It looks like a lot of my problems will be solved tonight" RUM grinned, as if he really was enjoying himself. " Who are your other friends ? I'd like to have some introductions at least ! "

Taking his gun out, James looked at Akai.

"- Go first and look for Kudô-kun" he whispered, "Howard and I will buy you time with those men.

\- Roger.

\- I'll stay with you" Saguru volunteered. "That man is dangerous, we'd better be three."

The old man looked at him, sizing him up and nodded to signify his agreement.

"- Be cautious, that man is crazy..." Kaito advised his friend.

"- I always am. Now, you find him" He gave the glasses to the Thief.

* * *

Akai, his man and the Kid followed Shiho for the last turns to the medical wing's door.

"- There shouldn't be anyone here at this hour, as this area is used by researchers only" she stated.

"- Ok then, I let you guard this door, Jones" the sniper told to his man, "it won't take long.

\- According to the radar, I think the signal comes from the 4th room on the left" Kaito announced, glasses on the nose, stuck in the hood.

The three of them walked silently to the door and the agent positioned himself on its side, the teens on the other. He counted to three with his right hand and tried to discreetly turn the knob but it was closed.

_"A job for me"_ the Thief thought with a smile and, after pointing at himself with the hand to the others, he got his tools out and started immediately to pick the lock.

Once he finished, he gave a bow to Akai with a move of his arms to the door. "And here you go."

Kaito lifted his head up when, hearing the door opened, he also noticed the unpleasant noise of Akai cocking his gun's trigger. He wasn't prepared to what he saw.

* * *

The door led to a small room, with a clinic bed in the middle of it. Shinichi was tied to it with some restraints, unconscious, and his shirt had been cut to allow various electrodes to be put on his torso, connected to the monitors around him. He was also linked to some drug pouch trough an IV in his arm, this precise IV being in the left hand of a man with a white blouse, while the right one started to push the content of a syringe into it. Feeling this wasn't good, Kaito quickly took out his cardgun and shoot one card that sent the syringe out of the medics hands and another to cut the IV-line.

"- Go away from him" Akai growled with a menacing voice.

The man obeyed, without struggling, lifting his hands in the air as Shiho was rushing to the bed and carefully removed what was left of the IV.

"- It's too late" the scientist pointed with a bitter smile.

"- What did you give him ?" she asked, worry in her eyes.

"- Consider him as dead. Did you think I didn't hear you trying to open the door ?

\- As a fellow scientist, I can't believe you would kill the only one who lived after taking the APTX" Shiho objected. "What did you gave him ?

\- If I can't have him, what's the use of keeping him alive ? It's taking the risk someone else studies him and discover the formula"

Bored of the researcher's lack of answers, Akai tackled him against the wall, his weapon pointed at his throat.

"- Will you answer the lady ?!

\- I gave..." the man swallowed with difficulties because of the pressure on his trachea, " ...I gave him enough heparin to kill a horse."

Still holding the medic, the sniper turned with interrogative eyes to the scientist, who was already rushing to the drugs' cupboard, her face wasn't apparent due to her hood but her attitude showed she was clearly concerned.

"- Help me, Kuroba-kun, we're looking for vitamin K.

\- What's heparin ?" he asked while searching another cupboard.

"- Anti-coagulant. You cut the IV quickly but I don't think it'll be enough.. He'll bleed to death without the antidote... Crap... It looks like there isn't anything... On your side, Kuroba-kun ?

\- Nothing either, just plastic tubes... " he answered, disappointment clearly apparent in his voice.

She turned to the medic with a look carrying murderous intents.

"- With or without menaces, you won't find the antidote here, we don't have this kind of drug in here", the BO member pointed, an annoying smile still on his face as the FBI agent let him go. Approaching with anger, the teen girl looked at him from head to toe and suddenly threw her fist in his face, with all her might, sending him against the wall. The man fell to the floor, knocked out, as Akai caught her because she was herself destabilized by the strength she put in her hit.

"- We didn't need him anymore" she explained at the two bewildered looks on her, rubbing her hurting hand as she was moving away from the FBI agent. "It's almost too soft...

\- We are the good guys, remember ?" Kaito pointed, surprised by the gesture of the scientist and seeing she was hesitating to do more.

"- Well the "good guys" should take their leave now" Akai decided." And, from what I understood, we should bring Shinichi-kun as soon as possible to an hospital"

Shiho nodded and started to take away the electrodes on the teen while Kaito untied the restraints.

"- How do we wake him up ?" the Thief asked as the detective seemed quite asleep.

"- Let's see... " Shiho looked at the drug bad which was linked to the IV. " It's a short time sedative, he should wake up by himself very soon, since his body doesn't receive the drug any more.

\- In the meanwhile, can you two carry Shinichi-kun ? We can't wait for him to wake" Akai stated, starting to give looks outside the room to check their way out.

"- Ok to me.

\- Just one sec" the Kid asked, removing his bulletproof jacket. "Better have him wear this, he needs it more than I do."

The agent nodded and, while the Thief put the vest on Shinichi and tightened the straps, the teen started to move.

"- Tantei-kun ?" Kaito gently called, running a hand on his face.

Shiho came closer and saw the detective was blinking back to consciousness.

"- Welcome back" she said with a small smile, while they both helped him to sit on the bed.

"- What happened...?" Shinichi wondered with a feeble voice, holding his head with his right hand as he felt the room was turning around him.

"- Don't try to move too fast" the girl advised. "You've been drugged, take it easy.

\- This voice... Haibara, is that you ? Who are the others ?

\- Well under these unsexy hoods we had to put on our heads, you'll find Akai-san, Haibara-san as you found out and your humble servant, Kuroba Kaito.

\- That's... quite the rescue mission" Shinichi noticed, looking a bit shocked." Haibara ? I can't believe it...

\- Don't worry, I will charge you later for that" she smiled under her hood.

"- Do you think you can walk ?" Akai enquired. "I don't want to rush you but the longer we stay, the harder it'll be to escape."

The teen tried to get up on his legs but they shook under him and Kaito had to grab his arm for him not to fall.

"- Don't worry, we will help you." the Thief stated, putting Shinichi's arm around his neck.

Shiho went to support him on the other side and the four of them left the room, Akai opening the way, gun in hand.

"- How did you find me ?" Shinichi wondered while they were walking to the medical wing's door.

"- Hattori sent us to Haibara-san and Akai-san. With their help, we found you thanks to the data on the card and those glasses" Kaito replied, pointing at his bespectacled head.

"- Hattori ?" Shinichi asked, his face darkening," is he... Matsumoto said he killed him.

\- He's in bad shape but alive, Kudô-kun" Shiho assured.

"- That's a relief..." Shinichi closed his eyes, giving his thanks to whatever Kami he could think of. " Wait a sec, I need my hand" he explained as he stopped, opening his eyes and leaving his arm off the girl's shoulder to wipe his face. "Nosebleed ?"

Shiho's eyes widened when she looked at him.

"- Ok, go faster guys, he needs to be treated NOW.

\- It's just a nosebleed ! " the detective tried to calm her down, as he didn't understand why she was so upset.

"- Kudô-kun, you've been given what could be a lethal dosage of anticoagulants and we found nothing to treat you here so we need to bring you to the hospital or you'll die. Take that handkerchief and put pressure on your nose.

\- We also have another problem" Akai stated as he made them stop with his free hand." Jones isn't guarding the door anymore. "

* * *

Kaito left Shinichi under the auburn-haired teen's care and took out his card gun. The FBI agent pushed the door with care and felt more than he heard the gunshot hurting him to the left shoulder.

"- Akai-san !" Shiho worried at his painful grunt.

Amuro had a triumphing grin at the name.

"- That's a nice hood you have there, Akai" Bourbon mocked, a gun in the hand.

"- Rei-kun..." the sniper said, holding his bloody shoulder against him, unable to use his gun anymore.

"- I knew if they caught Kudô, you'd come to free your _little _accomplice... I was so much expecting meeting you tonight !

\- That's a pity you decided your intelligence should be wasted on an old grudge" the FBI agent sighted a bit short breathed. "As I previously said, I don't want to be your enemy.

\- But you are already mine. Blame yourself, as nothing would have happened if you didn't let_ him_ die" he stated with a mad look, once again pointing his gun at Akai.

"- Don't forget me !" the Kid pointed who, as he saw Amuro wasn't paying attention to him anymore, shoot a card which made Bourbon let go of his weapon and hold his hand in pain.

In the instant of surprise the man had, Akai saw an opening and properly knocked him out with a high kick. Once he checked Bourbon was out, he turned to his man who was lying on the floor but there was nothing left to do for him, as he'd been headshot. He took the man's gun on the floor and gave him to Shinichi who accepted it with a nod.

"- You may have some use for it, as you're a good shot. Let's go" he sighted, with a last look at his man. "Tsk, he had to hurt the left side..." he added, more for himself, taking his own gun in his right hand after he wiped the blood on it on his trouser.

"- What do we do of him ?" Kaito asked, giving a head sign at Bourbon.

"- We can't take him with us, it'll be for next time" Akai shook his head as he remembered the man's madness. "Let's get out of here.

\- Ok, this way, then" Shiho pointed with a sign of the hand.

"- I can walk alone now" Shinichi told her as she wanted to go back to supporting him. "I feel the effect of the sedative is fading. Go in front with Akai-san and find us a way out"

She looked at him : his nose was still bleeding heavily and he had been forced to use his sleeve since her handkerchief was already soaked.

"- You don't look good " she stated with concerned eyes.

"- I thought you didn't appreciate me only for the looks ?" he joked, even if he felt he wasn't at his best just right now.

The girl rolled her eyes at him. "- Don't push yourself"

He nodded and they were going again.

* * *

After a few turns, they started to hear gunfires, coming from where they let the rest of the team.

"- Hakuba-kun ! " They could hear James's worried voice spurt out.

Kaito rushed to the next corner, spotting the unmistakable golden hair of the half-brit, lying on his back in the middle of the hallway, when James and his man had to protect themselves behind a corner due to a sustained fire. The detective's eyes were closed and there was blood on the right side of his neck.

Without a second thought, the Thief jumped in the hallway and fired a mix of bombs and sleeping gas cards towards the men. Taking advantage of the commotion, he rushed to Saguru, who was barely responding.

"- Don't die on me, Tantei-san, I need someone to run after me during my heists !" he worried at the detective's lack of reaction, checking the injury's seriousness and trying to get the teen in his arms back to his senses.

He let Hakuba go as he felt two enormous hands grabbing him from behind and throwing him on the ground, re-awaking the pain in his ribs.

_"How could that man still be awake with the sleeping gas ?! " _Kaito wondered as he spotted his opponent.

"- I have a few things to settle with you, Thief" Matsumoto said with a sadistic smile.

As if he didn't weigh anything at all, he lifted the Kid and pinned him against the wall, half knocking him out and starting to squeeze his hands around the teen's throat to strangle him. The Thief's vision was starting to blur when he heard a gunshot near of him. The iron hands on his neck loosened and he fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

He lifted his eyes, to distinguish his saviour in the remaining smoke Shinichi lowering his gun, with a worried look.

"- Are you alright ?

\- Yes... "Kaito answered with a hoarse voice." Thanks...

\- Don't mention it" the detective smiled. He then tried to spot his aggressor in the surrounding mist . "Where did he go ? I'm sure I touched him...

\- I think you did... but it looks like he isn't... human.

\- Reminds me of Gin" Shinichi muttered to himself.

He held his hand to get Kaito back on his feet but the effort of helping him up forced the teen to lean on the wall, suddenly feeling feeble.

"- You sure you're ok?" the Thief asked with concern. "You're as white as my favourite suit.

\- Just feeling light headed..." Shinichi answered with a faint smile." Let's check on Hakuba."

Shiho was already with him. There was blood, but not that much for someone who got shot in the neck, with a bit of luck, no artery had been hit.

"- I don't think anything major has been hurt" she answered to Kaito's worried look.

"- Howard, please carry him and use extra care" James asked his man, who nodded and bent to the teen." We also need to get the cars ready... " He added, more for himself.

They heard him giving orders through his ear-plug to the 2 men guarding the elevator.

"- Are you alright ?" he asked to Akai as he spot he was holding his bloody arm against him.

\- Just a scratch. But Jones didn't make it..."

A shadow passed through James's face.

"- There's nothing left to do her then. Let's move."

The team reached the elevator without any other incident and quickly took it the first floor.

"Wait a sec" Kaito said, taking a nearby pipe and using it to block the elevator, " we don't want to have them behind us".

The group rushed to the exit and spotted both cars waiting for them, the engine running. They all packed in, teens in one car, the rest of the FBI in the other and moved off to the hospital.


	9. Heist Arc - Chapter 9 - Epilogue

**And here we are, the extra chapter for Valentine day !**

**Though there isn't a lot of romance in there, sorry ; )**

**Here is the last chapter of what I called the "Heist Arc" (very original, I know :p) and we'll start another Arc next week, Wednesday as usual :3**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 9 : Epilogue**

* * *

Shiho, in her adult body still for a little while, entered into Shinichi's room, Akai on her heels, with his arm in a sling. It was still early morning, the teen had just finished his breakfast and was sitting on his bed, watching the sun rising through the hospital window. An IV was linked to his arm, providing him the vitamin K he needed to fight against the anticoagulants he was injected with.

"- You should be sleeping" she scolded with a small smile.

"- I can't, not yet..." Shinichi answered, shaking his head. Leaving his eyes off the window, he turned to them. " How is that shoulder, Akai-san ?

\- The sling is impressive but it's just stitches, I can leave today" the FBI agent shrugged his good shoulder.

"- Good to hear. I'd also like to go back home, I don't even feel I'm sick...

\- But you are. You will need a few more days of the antidote to be out of danger. How long will they keep you here?" Shiho enquired, coming nearer of his bed.

"- They said 5 days but obviously I can't. In 10 hours, I'm back in my school-grade features" he sighted with a depressed look.

"- That's also why I wanted to see you before leaving. Here is a present for you" she said putting in his hand a bottle of pills. "Since your body is still full of anti-coagulants, we can't have you back to Conan now, it would be too dangerous. So take one of those each time you feel you're going to change.

\- Wow, unlimited Shinichi time ? " His face was quite brighter now.

"- But try to take them at the last moment" she added, rolling her eyes at his enthusiasm.

"- Why the last moment?

\- You shouldn't take too much. Your little adventure finished to convince me those pills damage the brain, meitantei-kun" she smirked.

"- Haha, very funny..." he answered with a glare at the girl.

"- More seriously, it's above all due to the fact their duration will be shorter each time. It won't be agreeable... As to "Conan-kun's" absence, as usual, I'll make up something with Hakase to explain to everyone. Well, time to go" she said after a look at her phone. "The professor should be here in a minute, he came to fetch us with his car. Take care !

\- Thank you... for everything." He said with a serious face, getting in return a nod from the girl.

Shinichi waved at the both of them as they came out and went back to his thoughts, once again laying on his back, his arms crossed under his head on his pillow.

* * *

A few moments ago, once he was settled in his room, Kaito came in, bringing some news about Hakuba and Hattori. On the blond haired detective side, as Haibara diagnosed, the wound was just a flesh wound, he had a few stitches and was to stay in observation for 2 days before going home but that was all. Heiji was still unconscious in a critical state the ICU. As to the Thief, he was ending up with a two or three bruised ribs and a nasty blue mark around his neck.

After they enquired about each other's injuries, Kid also explained everything that happened since Shinichi was kidnapped.

How Hattori could warn them after being attacked by RUM and told them where to find some help.

How they found the east detective, thanks to the work of the strangest team made of Hakuba, Kuroba, Akai and more surprising, Haibara, who helped them, despite her fear from the Organization.

How she also discovered who Okiya really was though Shinichi still couldn't believe how she seemed to accept it so well.

Even for him, these were a lot of data to process.

The Thief had left him to his thoughts, saying he was going to check on Aoko and Shinichi could see his face was worried. Since she was barely injured, he was probably going to have a chat with her about his second identity and that was without a doubt going to be harsh. The detective perfectly could picture his stress, as it wouldn't be so different of his if one day Ran discovered his true identity. It was Aoko's choice to accept Kaito as he was, or not.

* * *

Kaito took a deep breath and knocked on Aoko's room door.

"- Can I come in ?" he asked with a soft voice.

"- ... Yes. " a female voice answered from the inside.

The Thief entered and closed the door behind him. The lights weren't on and the curtains were closed but he could spot Aoko, sitting on an hospital bed, her back turned to him. She was wearing a sleeveless top, showing the bandages covering largely her left arm.

"- How are you ?" he enquired, concerned in his eyes.

"- The arm hurts a bit but it should get better quickly as nothing is broken." It felt like she was repeating what the doctor told her.

"- Did They... ill-treated you ? What's with the dark room ?" Kaito dared to ask after a few minutes.

"- Apart from the second call to you, no. My eyes are just a bit sensitive to strong lights as I was blindfolded most of the time but that's all..." She sighted and turned her face to him.

Even with the faint light leaking trough the curtains, he could see her eyes were watery.

"- You know, I had one week where I had nothing else to do but to think about it and I still... Kaito, I want to know everything... from the start... don't you dare forget anything."

The teen walked through the room to sit near her, his legs outside the bed.

"- I think everything began 6 months ago..."

And he told once again his story, the truth behind his father's death and their double lives.

"-Tôichi-jiisan was murdered ?! I can't believe it... "

The eyes she laid on him were sympathetic. Being childhood friends, she also suffered from Kaito's father loss, just as he had suffered from her mother's death. Accepting to lose a parent as a child wasn't an easy task and they had supported each other through it.

"- I'm sorry I lied to you, sorry you were kidnapped because of me, sorry I wasn't here to protect you... This is my vendetta, I hadn't any right to drag you into it..." the teen apologized with the head low, unable to look at Aoko.

"- Your father was also someone precious to me, Kaito" she said, touching softly his hand, making him look at her again. "I can't say I don't understand your feelings but it's just so hard to picture how your family lied to mine, for so many years... Tou-san would be devastated if he heard about that, I'm not even sure I want to tell him...

\- I wouldn't want you to lie to him for me and I don't think we'll be able to keep it from him." he declared, shaking his head. "My blunders with Those guys put you in danger, Aoko, and will again in the future... I'm sorry but, to put it bluntly, as long as They are on the loose, you will be one of their targets. Perhaps even your father will.

\- I have never been afraid of criminals, Kaito. I've been raised by a cop." she affirmed, proudly raising her chin.

"- Those aren't the usual kind. They're infiltrated everywhere, even the police. I can protect myself but I think you will have to hide, at least for a while.

\- ... You really messed up my life, Kaitou Kid." Aoko had a faint ironical smile.

"- It wasn't on purpose, Ojou-sama." The tone was playful but the Thief's eyes were full of guilt.

"- Wait til that arm is better, I'll give you a taste from my mop !" she joked with a quiet laugh, nudging him so he would be less tense. "Kaito, just promise me. Whatever happens, I don't want any lies or untold things between the two of us anymore.

\- Yes." he answered after a short pause, looking in her eyes while nodding.

The Kid got up from the bed, heading to the exit.

"- I'm going to check on the guys and try to find with them about a way to keep you safe." He stopped midway to turn to her once again, a bit shy. "No untold things, you said, eh ? Then one last confession to you. When you were in danger because of me, I just couldn't stand the idea of you being harmed, it drove me mad... I think it made me realize that... You are special to me, Aoko, and not only because you are my childhood friend." He smirked and straightened up, using Kid's tone. "Rejoice, my dear lady, as you were able to steal the most important possession of the great Thief Kaitou Kid, his heart !"

He had a faint blush and then left the room, after one last glance at his beloved's astonished face.

* * *

"_Argh, I can't sleep, better go see him" _Shinichi decided, opening his eyes.

Luckily, his IV drip was mobile, allowing him to move so he just took a blanket and threw it on his shoulders and headed to Heiji's room. The FBI agent Jodie had had the 4 teens on the same floor, in the secured wing of the hospital. Being in intensive care, the Osakan's chamber was a bit remote but Kid explained Shinichi where to find him.

He sighted as he arrived when he saw another hospital plate with Heiji's name on it, the second in less than ten days, and pushed the door. He was aware of what he'll see but he wasn't completely ready for it. His friend was surrounded by monitors, and several tubes were linked to him. Oxygen, blood, food, drugs, monitoring : he could tell the use of each but it wasn't reassuring either. On the opposite, the insistent beep of the cardiac monitor was, as it reminded him the teen was alive. His friend seemed peaceful but he still didn't look well, there was a lack of colour spottable even with his dark skin. The detective approached and noticed Heiji's head and chest were bandaged and a few bruises were starting to appear on his face. Shinichi took a chair close to the Osakan's bed and rested his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. It was so hard to see his energetic and always joking best friend in this state.

_"That Matsumoto... " _He shook in anger.

He heard the door open and raised his head to see Heiji's parents coming in. Spotting Shinichi near of his son, the West detective's father rushed to him and grabbed his gown, letting the blanket he had on his shulders fall on the floor.

"- Ya ! Heiji was supposed to rest at yar house, what happened ta him ? In what did ya involve him ?!

\- Anata !" Hattori's mother stopped him, a hand on his forearm. "Stop it, he's also a patient, don' ya see ?"

Heizô let go of Shinichi, seeming to notice only now the IV drip and the unbecoming but usual cloths of an hospital patient.

"- Sorry ... "he began. "Vitamin K ?" He asked, with a surprised look at the drip," isn't th't a treatment fer acute anticoagulants poisinin' ?

\- A little memory from the guys who did that to Hattori... Once they understood I was going to be saved, they tried to kill me with an OD of heparin."

The Osakan officer looked bewildered while his wife contained an outraged gasp.

"- What happened ?" he calmly asked this time, bending to get the teen's blanket and holding it to him.

"- I'm sorry" Shinichi excused himself, putting it back on his shoulder. " It's my fault, I wasn't cautious enough... We were helping a friend on a case and Hattori was just supposed to give us some communication support from a safe place he was absolutely supposed not to leave... But, when I was attacked, he rushed to try to save me... I own him my life. Even if he didn't succeed to stop the man to kidnap me, it's a miracle he could wake with his injuries and was able to warn our team. Without him, I'll still be a captive from those guys where only death was waiting for me...

\- Any other witness than Heiji ? Who did th't ?

\- We know but there isn't any proof, just our testimony as under-ages and I don't think it'll be enough.

\- Who ? " The detective's father insisted, unable to wait any longer to have the names of the ones who hurt his son.

"- Please don't be surprised but... It's Superintendent Matsumoto, from the MPD.

\- What ?! Ya understand the accusations ya're layin' are extremely grave ?

\- That's why I'm saying testimonies can't be good enough. But Hakuba and myself saw him, Hattori also I guess. We can't accuse him publicly but I can at least warn you..."

The 3 of them jumped as the heard the door open and turned their head at the same time to see with relief see a doctor and a nurse going in.

"- Ah, you must be Heiji-kun's parents ?" The doctor asked with a smile. "Can I speak to you a minute ? In private maybe ?" he added, spotting Shinichi.

"- It's ok, he can stay" Heizô stated with a look at the teen. "How's Heiji ?

\- To put it bluntly, the most preoccupying at the moment is that his sternum has been fractured by the gunshot impact, even with the bullet proof jacket's protection. That fracture exerted an acute pressure on the organs below it and induced an internal haemorrhage when he already had lost a lot of blood due to the fact the wound he got last week reopened. We had to reanimate him once earlier but he's strong, I think we can now say the worst is behind us... "

As the doctor was talking, Mrs Hattori cuddled up to her husband, as to protect her from the news. Shinichi, as to him, was clenching his fists so strong they were turning white.

"- So what now ?" the father asked, clenching his jaw to keep a straight face.

"- The last exams we performed attested that neither the lungs nor the heart were heavily damaged and we could reduce the pressure exerted on them so I'll be able to remove the intubation later this morning. He should be awaking soon, probably today, and, if he recovers correctly, he'll be out in 10 days. The next step will be absolute rest and a particular attention against lungs disorder the next months.

\- That's a relief" Mrs Hattori said with watery eyes, " thank ya."

The doctor and the nurse nodded at them and left the chamber. Noticing Shinichi's white fists and his face, a mix of anger and guilt, Heizô put his hand on his shoulder.

"- Don' fret ta much about it, son" he advised, his eyes falling on his son. "That's who Heiji is, a man capable ta give his life ta shield a friend. Don' destroy his gesture by yer guilt. Instead, be here fer him next time. Now, from what I understood, ya didn' sleep an' this was a long night so go take some rest. I'll make some calls ta start an underground investigation about Matsumoto. I may come back ta ya later.

\- Please be careful. And please also call me if he wakes up" Shinichi said, getting up.

"- Of course."

* * *

"- Hey, aren't you supposed to sleep, Kudô ?"

Closing Hattori's door 's room, Shinichi turned his head to the familiar voice of the Thief who called him.

"- I couldn't. Maybe later.

\- How is he ?

\- It was close but he should be getting better now. Still sleeping thought.

\- Good to hear. Come, I walk you back to your room. "

The detective tried to read Kaito's face, to find any clue on how his chat with Aoko turned out but the guy wasn't the Kid for nothing, there wasn't anything more than concern for Hattori in his eyes. They silently walked through the alleyway towards the teen's room, Kaito discreetly adjusting his pace to Shinichi's as he was struggling with his IV drip.

"- How did it go ? With her ?" the teen finally dared to ask when he heard the Kid pushing back his room's door behind him.

"- Surprisingly enough, I haven't been hit, cuffed or chased with a mop so I guess I should say it really exceeded my expectations." The Thief concluded with a shrug.

"- That's a sweet girl you've got, try not to lose her, Kuroba..." The detective advised with a small smile, sitting on his bed.

"- I know and coming this close with our last adventure was already too much for me." Kaito had a chill. "Apparently, They didn't harm her but I don't think being kidnapped is a good experience for anyone.

\- Did she tell you how it happened ?

\- Yea? She was at home when a guy knocked at her door, with an official MPD badge, saying her father got caught up in an important case and he'll need some change of clothing but was too busy to call. He proposed to drive her with her father's stuff to the Headquarters and chloroformed her when she got in the car. For the rest, it was mostly her being tied, blindfolded and kept in dark places. She moved once, when Mastumoto took over but she didn't spot anything useful.

\- Any idea of who was that guy with the badge ?

\- She said the others called him "Bourbon"."

Shinichi's face whitened a bit as his brain started to work at full speed.

_"Since he was meddled with this case at its beginning, that would explain how he came so fast to the research centre. But hell, even if his methods are harsh, threatening girls just to come a step closer to the Boss was extreme, wasn't he supposed to be part of the secret police ?!"_

"- Kudô ? You're listening ?" Kaito gave him an interrogative look. "You know that guy ?

\- Old acquaintance. You also met him, he's the one who put a bullet in Akai's shoulder.

\- Tsk, I would have given him a few kicks back there if I knew" The Kid's regretted, an angry shadow crossing his face. "Though I don't think he'd have felt it, Akai knocked him out quite properly." he added with a grin at the memory.

"- Don't underestimate Jeet Kune Do , I think you remember when you tasted his sister's kicks and he's apparently far more powerful than her" Shinichi chortled, remembering seeing Kid being chased by an angry Sera in panties in the blush mermaid's case.

"- Oh, that tomboyish girl was his sis' ? And stop laughing, I know, my mistake, and I think she made me sorry enough not to have spotted she was a girl. " Kaito had an offended look at the detective as he was now laughing wholeheartedly. After a few instants, the Thief couldn't resist and also started to giggle.

"- Sorry, it's just..." Shinichi tried to calm down.

"- You're right, I guess I'm taking this stuff too seriously, aren't I supposed to be _the_ kid in that room ?

\- You forgot I'm looking like 7 years old most of the time...

\- Well, _Conan-kun_, if you don't mind, let's focus on the main question : how can I avoid to have to go through last week again ? Any ideas ?

\- Being busted and having to protect Ran are my highest fears so I can't say I didn't give one or two thoughts on the subject..." The detective had a chill. " As They know your identity, let's be honest, both your relatives and closest friends are in danger.

\- I don't worry for my relatives. My mother rose me alone and you've seen how good I'm with escaping" Kaito grinned, a bit proud. " And Jii-chan is quite capable to hide himself. That's all, family side.

\- So Aoko-san remaining ?" the detective asked.

"- And maybe her father ?" the Thief added, still a bit unsure of what was the best for Aoko's father.

"- I think we may be able not to have to protect him much. I'll have to check with the FBI but one or two agents around his house might be enough, as he's well known for being Kaitou Kid's sworn enemy. For Aoko-san, hmm, with the FBI just here, we should think about the witness protection program...

\- Aoko would so kill me if I sent her to the US...

\- Yes, I would."

With the exact same move, both teens turned their heads at light speed towards the opened door.

"- Sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping" Aoko excused herself, cheeks reddening a bit. "I came to thank Kudô-kun and check on him but, well, I didn't want to interrupt but I heard my name...

\- That's eavesdropping to me, Ahouko." Kaito scolded her, his tongue out.

"- I think you're quite the one to talk, Bakaito, when you have this... night job of yours. And you were discussing my future, I think I should have been here !

\- Uhm, guys ?" Shinichi interrupted, embarrassed to be in the middle of the couple's quarrel.

"- Gomen... Aoko, can you come in and close the door ? Do you want to turn off the lights for your eyes ?" He added with concern.

"- No, it's ok, it's starting to get better." She walked by Kaito, slightly blushing when looking at him.

"- Kudô, here is Nakamori Aoko." The Kid introduced with a small bow, hands pointing at the girl.

"- Nice to meet you !" The detective greeted with a smile.

"- And Aoko, here is one of your saviours from last night, the great and internationally known detective of the East, Kudô Shinichi."

The said teen threw an incredulous side look to the Thief, wondering what all those titles were for.

"-Free of charges" Kaito winked to him with a wide smile.

"- Nice to meet you too and thanks for the help. I'm sorry it ended in you being in grave danger...

\- It wasn't your fault, Aoko-san.

\- I still feel responsible..." She turned to his friend, her face changing from guilt to anger in a few seconds. " About earlier, what was that nonsense about sending me to the US ?

\- Aoko, as I told you, we need to find a way to hide you until the Organization is dismantled." Kaito explained her with a serious look. "I don't want you to be used as a leverage against me by Them.

\- And you, what will you do ?

\- I know how to hide myself, my second life forced me to have several hideouts. Kuroba Kaito will disappear from the face of the world, only Kaitou Kid will remain.

\- So you'll keep stealing then ?" she asked, with some disappointment in her eyes.

"- I must. I won't stop until I stop the ones who killed my father.

\- Then take me with you ! I won't be a burden... Pop me a thief disguise, whatever !

\- Aoko...

\- Hmm the disguise isn't a bad idea, Kuroba." Shinichi pointed with a thoughtful look. "One of my other ideas was to move in a new house and disguise relatives so they could have a normal live without being recognized. Well, you saw how it worked with Akai-san.

\- But who... oh ! One sec'. " Kaito took his phone out and went to a corner of the room not to be heard, whispering furiously. He came back to them with a wide smile. "Want to live with my mother, Aoko ?"

* * *

After both teens left, Shinichi was tired enough to be able to grab a bit of sleep.

He woke up a few hours later and decided to go for a walk, visiting first Hakuba, whose room was the closest, to chat with him about the last events. The blond-haired was still in pain, the detective could see it, but his wound wasn't incapacitating, he would be indeed out of the hospital fast. Once he saw by himself the half-brit was ok, he felt reassured and went to Heiji's room once again. With a look at his friend, he noticed the intubation and the transfusion had been removed, implying the doctors considered his health was improving. His parents were still in the room, with tired looks, probably from the exhausting travel and the associated sleepless night so he suggested them to have a break, while he would watch over Heiji.

The teen let go of Hattori's father's newspaper when he heard a groan coming from the bed.

"- Hattori ?" he softly asked as he came nearer of the Osakan.

"- Kudô ?" the teen coughed with a hoarse voice.

"- Wait" Shinichi quickly rose to grab a glass of water and sat on the bed to lift his friends's head and help him to drink." Here, some water. Go easy, you've been intubated, that's why your throat is sore.

\- So Hakuba did find ya..."Heiji pointed, after swallowing a bit of water and trying now to sit up.

"- Keep lying on your back. " The detective ordered, putting a soft but strong hand on his shoulder. He put the glass on a table and sat back on his chair near the Osakan.

"- He can be useful aft'r all... " the lying teen concluded. " Well, that's quite a relief... ya're back...

\- A relief ? What should I say ? I thought you were dead ! And you almost were !

\- Ya're exaggeratin'... " Heiji still looked at himself, a bit worried, trying to feel his wounds by moving his body but it was uselss because of the drugs so he gave up. " I never lack ... o' surprises" the Osakan joked with a faint smile, feeling his friend was tense.

"- Indeed, the only thing you lack, Hattori, is self-preservation's sense" Shinichi scolded with a severe face.

"- That's who I am... an' ya won' change me... I trust ya would do.. the exact same thin' fer me..." Heiji stated, looking into his friend's eyes, a bit short breath after such a tirade. " Now, did ya catch.. that bastard traitor... Matsumoto ?

\- I'm sorry Hattori, it's a bit complicated, but he kind of managed to escape.

\- Wait 'til I leave this hospital... I'll have his ass ta kick ... an' probly more" he said with an evil grin.

"- Leave some to me !" Shinichi laughed. He looked at his best friend. "It's good to have you back."


	10. RUM's Arc - Chap 10 - Declaration of War

**Heya ! **

**And here we are, in a new arc ! Still no much action in that once since the boys are investigating but we are coming near^^**

**Hope you'll enjoy it as well : )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Shinshinjane : here it is ! :D**

* * *

**RUM's Arc****\- Chapter 10 : Declaration of War**

* * *

Shinichi's bed was covered with papers : police files, newspapers, notes and a computer was on the top of the pile. The teen was sitting, a file in the hand, soundly asleep.

The detective didn't enjoy being stuck in the hospital the last 4 days : boredom was starting to eat him. At least, he had plenty of time to be able to work on the Intel he had and to try to find a way to stop those guys, starting with the ones infiltrated into the police. Kaito brought him the list of the moles they got from the chip and copies of their police file for the ones working in MPD - the detective didn't even dare to ask how he did get these, though it probably implied a disguise, a false officer's badge and the hell of a nerve. Twelve men were working for the Organization in Tokyo's police, all officers, the highest rank being Matsumoto.

"- Hi there, sleeping beauty !"

The detective jumped awake, letting the file he had in the hand fall on the floor. His usual mocking smile on the face, Kaito bent down to give it back to him, while the dark-haired was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"- Isn't it a bit early to sleep ? It's only 03:32 and 45 seconds pm...

\- Kuroba ? Hakuba ?" Shinichi asked, once his eyes were opened enough to check his surroundings. "I guess I dozed off, I'm not sleeping very well nowadays... How are you both doing ?

\- My neck is still stiff" The blond-haired answered with a shrug, "but I should consider myself as lucky as it could have been far worse.

\- Oh, that's you being stiff ? Sorry, but I don't spot any differences with your usual self" Kid added with a grin, getting a dark look from Saguru.

"- If my attitude doesn't suit you, feel free to leave my hideout, you know. Baaya will rejoice having a meal less to prepare.

\- So you settled down in Hakuba's hideout in the end ?" Shinichi enquired, a bit sceptical when he was seeing how both of them were picking at each other.

"- Yes, it was bigger... And I won't complain someone's doing the house chores for us." Kaito explained.

"- Since we both had to hide, it was easier to stay together... Though I can't guarantee how long I'll be able to endure living with a thief... Above all this one." Saguru added, pointing the teen beside him with the hand. "It must be my punishment for my previous mistake, I could be walking freely if I hadn't had the stupidity to show my face to Matsumoto in that research centre...

\- Yea, even _I_ didn't get busted out of free will" the Thief laughed at the blond-haired, getting another dark look he totally ignored. "And you, getting any better ? Working on the files I gave you, I see ?

\- The last blood tests were almost normal. One last test tomorrow, and hopefully, I'm out. " the detective sighted. "And yes, I worked on the files. The MPD moles are 10 male and 2 female officers, between 24 and 55 years old. There's nothing specific in their files that could have pointed they weren't loyal : their joining date and courses have nothing in common but I could spot that, for each of them, Matsumoto supported at least once their candidatures or internal promotions. Speaking of him, did you hear anything about him through your father, Hakuba ?

\- Yea, I wanted to warn you about him : I'm afraid he came back yesterday in the headquarters, from what he called "Osaka's holidays with his daughter"...

\- That guy got some nerves" Kid sworn with a disgusted look.

"- We did consider that possibility." Shinichi shrugged resignedly. "And as long as we don't catch him red-handed, he has no reason to hide...

\- It also seems you did grazed him with a bullet during your last confrontation" Saguru continued his report. "His left shoulder is hurt, but he apparently pretended spraining it while playing some baseball with his son in law.

\- Baseball ? With the strength he has, the ball doesn't stand a chance..." the East detective scoffed. "It's me or it's hot ?

\- Not really" Saguru answered before having a closer look at the teen. "Though you do seem to be sweating a lot.

\- Really ? Crap, not... already..." With a painful groan, Shinichi clenched his chest, feeling the usual throb and burn of an incoming change.

"- Oi, are you alright ? " Kaito enquired with a worried look, getting closer to the bed to help his friend.

"- Yea..." the detective panted, hand still clenched on his shirt. "Could you just give me... the bottle of pills in the ... bedside table's drawer? "

The Thief quickly grabbed it and gave it to the teen while Saguru was preparing a glass of water.

"-Thanks.

\- Are you changing ?" the blond haired wondered, seeing the other teen swallow a red and white pill.

"- Yea... The time frame is shorter and shorter, just as Haibara foresaw... It's stabilizing but I need to take a pill every two hour now... I can't even sleep correctly, I never thought I'll say it one day but I'll be glad to be back as Conan tomorrow... The change isn't exactly pleasant and even if I don't get through the whole thing as I take a pill when the symptoms begin, it exhausting for the body, I feel it.

\- Well, as you said, it's almost over, we'll have the pleasure to hang around again with Conan-kun pretty soon" the Kid smiled, amused per advance by the many ways he could tease Shinichi as a first grader.

"- And it'll be harder to meet as we do" The dark-haired detective pointed with a serious look. "Speaking of meeting, let's go to Hattori's room. I think the four of us should discuss on how stopping Matsumoto now we've got the complete information on the MPD's moles.

\- Is it wise to imply him? Shouldn't he be getting some rest ?" The half-brit objected with a worried face."I know his brains can be sometimes useful but we may once again have a hot-blooded reaction like last time and we don't want that without him being fully healed...

\- I promised him I wouldn't hide anything from him anymore... But he'll be glad to learn you're concerned about him" Shinichi grinned at the other detective, which made him blush.

The East detective got up and retrieved a few papers from his bed.

"- Ok, let's go."

* * *

"- Come in" Mrs Hattori's voice invited after Kaito knocked on the door. The 3 boys went in, politely nodding hello to the woman. "Good afternoon boys " she smiled. "Oh, I do recognize those faces, the ones of young detectives on a case, I guess it's time fer me ta have a break." The Osakan woman got up with a wink.

"-Thank you" Shinichi said, relieved not to have to find a diplomatic way to send her away as the truth, him meddling her son in another dangerous case, would probably not suit her tastes...

As she was about to walk to the door, the woman turned to Heiji with a hard look.

"- I know ya seem ta enjoy it but try not ta plan with them the next time ya'll get wounded, would ya ?

\- Hai, Oba-han..." the dark skinned detective had an annoyed look at her when she left and closed the door behind her. "Will you all stop smilin' sillily ? " He gave a wounded beast's look to his friends, who were trying hard not to laugh in front of such an example of filial obedience. "An' help me sittin' straight... I can' stand lyin' but she doesn' allow me any other position...

\- Aren't you getting better ? " Shinichi asked with concern, helping the teen to adjust his bed.

"- I am, I'm just still a bit short breath'd ... but I think it's part o' her punishment ta me ... for bein' able ta find a way ta end twice... in the hospital in such a short time... An' since Tou-san came back ta Osaka... it seems she has the need ta scold me fer the both of them...

\- Your father left ?" the East detective noted.

"- Well, bein' an high ranked officer in Osaka's police... he couldn' stay all day here... An' ya gave him some homework ta do... with the list o' the infiltrated agents at his service...

\- Did he say what he would do about these men ?" Saguru asked.

\- Yea, he'll discreetly re-arrange the missions o' the highest ranked ... til he has enough proofs ta arrest them... The others'll be watched by som' officers who can be trusted... he worked on this with Tôyama-han.

\- So we're good Osaka side", concluded Kaito. He turned to his half-brit nemesis. "How about MPD ?

\- I called Father on this matter." The blond-haired declared, a bit aback. "The problem is that most of the infiltrated agents are officers so, unless we catch them in the act, we won't be able to act against them.

\- For the " caught red-handed" part, I think we can count on Hakase's little gadgets to help us broadcast the whole thing, at least to some trustworthy witnesses." Shinichi promised with a grin. "So the next question is : what bait ?

\- I bet if we threaten to leak some info we found... on the card, they'll come runnin'. " Heiji proposed.

"- So I guess I should have a leading part in your plan, as I am the one who supposedly had the micro chip ?" the Kid smirked at them . "Kudô, can you show me again the list of Their agents and their assignments?

\- I got it just here." the detective took one of his papers to give it to Kaito.

"- They belong to almost every criminal department", the Thief noted as he quickly read it again.

"- Yea, I see only one place they'll be together" Shinichi sighted.

"- The headquarters ?

\- Yes, as you say, Hakuba..." the dark-haired detective nodded. "I see only that place. Ready for... the biggest heist of your career, Kaitou Kid ?"

Kaito grinned at him, Kid-style, popping his hat and monocle out of nowhere.

"- MPD headquarters ? I do appreciate the challenge, Tantei-han. " He said with a small bow. "These fellows seem to enjoy admiring my shows, I'll gladly give them more. But we'll be directing the play this time."

* * *

"- Kudô, can I talk ta you a sec' ?" Heiji asked as the boys were getting out, after finalizing their plan.

"- Of course. See you later !" Shinichi said goodbye to Kaito and Saguru who went through the door and came back near Hattori's bed." What's the matter ?

\- I just wanted ta know what ya did... about the fact the BO knows ya're alive."

The east detective sighted, knowing this question was due to be asked by his friend.

"- To be honest, not much. I warned my parents but, being abroad, they shouldn't been high-priority targets. My house may be under a stricter surveillance but Amuro cleared Okiya and he's extra cautious already so no problem there either...

\- So the Mouri are left...

\- I had Akai put 2 men to watch the office. I'll also bug the apartment when I'm back, so he'll be able to intervene in case of danger.

\- Ya sure it'll be enough ?" Heiji worried.

"- Of course, I can't be sure..." Shinichi recognized with a sad look. " I won't tell you I sleep soundly by night but higher protection would be invasive and would attract attention...

\- An' about the fact that... Amuro guy seemed ta know about yer... _small_ problem ?"

The detective's face darkened at the thought.

"- I don't know how he discovered it but I think it's more something he guessed by himself than an intel he got from the BO. And he seemed to know for a long time, so why tell it now if he didn't before ?

\- That guy seems complicated... " Heiji looked then into his friend's eyes. "An' ya still didn' tell Nee-chan an'... Jii-chan who he's ? Or at least the danger ... he represents ?

\- I can't, that would lead to too many questions..." The teen shook his head, getting a sigh from his best friend.

"- I just want ta point that I know how desperate ya are ... ta hide the truth but do ya really want... ta risk nee-chan's life fer it ?

\- You obviously know the answer to that question, Hattori" The east detective stared at the teen. " I see what you're doing here, I'll give a thought about it, ok ?

\- That's what I wanted ta hear..." Heiji closed his eyes, visibly in pain after all the chatting of the day.

"- Just short breathed, eh ?" Shinichi asked ironically."Didn't we say nothing to hide anymore not long ago ?

\- And ya, aren' ya tryin' ta hide ... the fact the changes are beginn' ta be ... pretty exhaustin' fer ya ?" The Osakan smirked to his friend as he opened his eyes again.

"- ... Bull's-eye." The teen smiled embarrassingly.

"- As ta me, ta be honest... it's perhaps a bit mor' than short breathed... I feel like there's a damn sumo wrestler... sittin' on my chest 24/7... an' I can' say I enjoy it... Well, the price seems low accordin' ta ... what I heard about my condition when I arrived...

\- Did you tell Kazuha by the way ?

\- Tou-san warned Tôyama-han since he had... ta leave Osaka but I didn' want her... ta come here... We agreed it was too dangerous... They told her somethin' happened... an' I'll be away a while, that's all.

\- You should give her a call, she must be worried sick." His friend scolded.

"- If I call her now, she'll be even mor' worried... Once I'm able ta finish my sentences... in one breath, I'll call her.

\- She's so going to make you pay for that, Hattori." Shinichi grinned at the idea of a Kazuha unable to decide between anger and concern and switching between both, as usual.

"- I try not ta think too much about it..." Heiji softly smiled.

* * *

Conan slipped into his dark blue vest and put his glasses back on his nose, frowning a bit when he opened his eyes again in Ai's lab.

"- Back to first-grader life" He sighted, looking at his features.

"- Welcome back" she grinned when she saw how depressed he looked. "On the bright side, your check up is ok, your tension is a bit high but it is probably due to sleep deprivation.

\- I'm almost missing Kogoro-jiisan snoring, I'm so tired of those change's fits ...

\- Try to get a good night sleep, should be easy as there's no school tomorrow. You said you stabilized at one fit every 2 hours the last days ?

\- Yes... But the changing time turned pretty short. Usually, when I take the 24h antidote, I have half an hour before changing. Yesterday, it was 2 minutes. I hope I didn't become resistant to those pills?"

He worried, turning his head to Ai, who was scribbling some notes on her memo pad. After a few instants, she deigned to answer to him.

"- You shouldn't worry too much about that, next antidote will be of another kind. Permanent.

\- Oh ok... WHAT ?!" Conan's mind took a while to assimilate the information.

"- Permanent. Irreversible. Forever. As a detective, those words shouldn't be too hard for you ?

\- But that's just great news ! So you did get something out from that card !

\- Yes, I did." she smiled at his joy, making him looking like a child more than ever. " The trials I leaded last week confirmed the data I retrieved was indeed the APTX 4869's formula. There also was a few reports from the researches I performed on it when I still worked for them. I think in a month work, I'll be able to synthesize the definitive cure.

\- Not any sooner ?" The boy asked, a bit aback. "Next week would be...

\- I don't even want to hear about another crazy plan you elaborated with your new friends, whatever you're doing, you'll have to go through it as Edogawa Conan." She stated with a straight face and then spotted the detective's surprised eyes at her. "Don't look at me like that, you're not the only one who can think : I've seen the remains of Kid's glider Hakase is repairing, I know you're all going to another stupid act. You put too much stress on your body, it'll take a week or two before the old antidote works correctly again. And, as the two drugs are different, if we want to avoid any dangerous interactions, I think a month is a correct period between the two doses.

\- Ok, ok, I give up."

* * *

_"Kid act. Kid act. Kid act."_ Conan focused once more to get his mind back to his apparent 7 years. After one week as a 17 years old again, it was hard to slip back into a boy's role.

"- Tadaima ! " Conan cheerfully greeted when opening Mouri's apartment's door.

"- O kaeri, Conan-kun !" Ran's voice came from the kitchen so the boy headed there.

When he entered the room, she smiled warmly at him as she was cooking. "Did you have fun at Hokkaido with your parents ?

\- Yes, we had a lot of snow !

\- I bet, we saw it on the news, there was a snow storm all week" she watched him more intensely." I guess that's why you look a bit white ? Still, next time, I hope your parents will warn a bit beforehand, I was worried not to see you coming back from Hakase's house...

\- I'm sorry Ran-neechan" Conan put a guilty face. " Apparently it was really a last minute chance and they didn't want it to go to waste. I tried to send you a text but it seems my telephone bugged...

\- As long as you enjoyed your trip..." Ran shrugged indulgently. " Well, wash your hands, we'll have dinner soon.

\- Hai..." the boy answered, heading to the sink.

Ran let go of the vegetables she was cutting when she felt her phone vibrating. She frowned when she saw the sender and even more when she read the mail.

"-Everything alright, Ran-neechan ? " Conan enquired as he spotted her face.

"- Not really... It's Kazuha-chan, she has no news from Hattori-kun since Monday so she is turning quite hysterical. Apparently, her father knows something but doesn't want to tell her. She just asked me if she could come over for the weekend since she can't stand quarrelling all day with him about that... Would you happen to have heard of Hattori-kun ?

\- Nope, since my phone wasn't working correctly in Hokkaido"

_"Damn Hattori", _Conan thought_, " I told you you had to call her."_He noted to himself to send him a text later.

"- I also tried to call Shinichi but he doesn't answer... I guess he's once again on his "very important case"." She lowered her voice with a sad look."I wonder if I'll see him long enough to answer him one day" she added, more for herself.

"- Ran-neechan ? " the small detective tried to distract her from her dark thoughts as he could, feeling guilty.

"- Oh, sorry Conan-kun, I was daydreaming..." Her phone vibrated again. "Looks like we'll have some company tomorrow." she stated with a smile after looking at the Osakan girl's answer. "Oh by the way, we got a new student in class, she's so sweet. Her name is Aoba Kanako, she just transferred. Family problems it seems, she came to Tokyo only with her mother. I invited her here tomorrow so don't be surprised..."

The small detective grinned inwardly at the name. Aoba Kanako ? That was just a mix of some part of Aoko Nakamori and Kuroba... He perfectly knew who was that new student and it was funny to see the 2 girls already made contact. Kaito and him, with Aoko's approval, decided the girl would be living with the Thief's mother, Chikage, so she could make both their disguises every morning. Kuroba-san had moved to Beika's 5th district, where she already had a flat under a false name for "professional purposes" as she liked to say. This way, Aoko would go to Teitan school and, without her knowing it, Conan would be near in case of emergency. They also warned her, in case she met Ran or Shinichi's former classmates, not to say a word about the detective, to keep him safe. As to her father, the FBI explained him the criminal mistook her for someone else, so as long as he was in the wild, she had to be protected. She finished convincing him herself, saying she would call everyday with some disposable phones, so it wouldn't seem too long to him. Aoko didn't feel at ease with lying to her father but she didn't feel he was ready to accept the truth either so she kept it for later.

"- ... Did you listen to me, Conan-kun ?

\- Hai ! She sounds like a good girl, you should be friend with her" he commented.

* * *

"- Oh, did you see ?" Aoko asked, pointing at the newspaper on the table, "there's an heist notice from the Kid !"

The three girls and Conan were around the living room table the next day's afternoon, enjoying a cup of tea. Kazuha arrived just after lunch and, predictably, she was a mess, between her anger at her father and her worry about Heiji. Ran did her best to calm her and the Osakan girl was now looking a bit better, though she was still shaking her cup and unusually non-talkative. So "Kanako-chan" and Ran were leading the conversation. Conan had tried to recognize Aoko's features but Kaito's mother had done a great work. Her long dark hair turned into a bob haircut of a light brown color. Her eyes were now green and her face slightly different, with a longer nose and high cheekbones. Her voice wasn't modified but the disguise was already more than efficient to hide her. He noticed she was also trying not to use her left arm, her injury was still probably hurting. Focused on his observation, he couldn't retain a surprised gasp as Ran's arm circled him.

"- If you like the Kid, let me introduce you his arch enemy ! Right, Conan-kun ?"

She was so close he could fell his cheeks blushing.

"- Yes... I often get back the loot but I never stop him...

\- Oh, you're such a brave little boy" Aoko congratulated him. "So you'll be participating in the next heist ?

\- Of course ! " the boy nodded, putting a forced smile on his face, trying not to react the "brave little boy" she gave him.

"- Still, this note is quite surprising", Ran noted, letting the boy go back to the table. "The press says his goal is in the MPD headquarters ? Is it a declaration of war to the police ? He has some nerves to directly challenge Superintendent Matsumoto.

\- And the message seems to imply he'll be giving back something, a bit like in the Ryouma case..." Aoko added. "Though I don't know what the"12 truths about the darker side of justice" he's planning to deliver are... And who is the one" named after the black thieves of the sea's water" whose secret is supposed to belong? "

Conan smiled behind his mug. _"This one is just for you, RUM", _he thought.

"- Are you interested in thefts, Kanako-chan ?" Ran wondered.

"- Oh, my father is... used to be a cop" she blushed. "And he used to follow Kid's heists... Eh, on the press of course."

Conan raised a brow at the girl's hesitations. Well, it was understandable, that was probably hard to forget in one day 17 years defending her Kid-hunter of a father. He just hoped she would get used to it quickly, not to endanger her cover.

"- Oh, my father also used to be ! " Ran smiled. "So the 3 of us are cop's daughter ? It's funny. Though only Kazuha-chan's father is in service anymore. Oh sorry..." she excused herself, noticing her friend's face getting darker as they spoke of their respective fathers.

"- Did you fight with your father ?" Aoko asked before regretting it."Excuse me, I'm being inquisitive, we just met today, I shouldn't..." she added when she saw the Osakan's face.

"- Nah, it's ok" Kazuha sighted. " My ...best friend disappeared, I know somethin' happened an' my father knows what. He just doesn' want ta tell me, he says it's fer my own good... But I'm so worried about Heiji..." Her shoulders started to shake again.

"- Heiji ?" The undercover girl repeated. "Hattori Heiji ?

\- Do ya know him ? Know where he's ?" Kazuha jumped on her feet, looking at her hopefully.

"- Ah, it's probably not the same Heiji, right?" Conan interrupted, trying to stop the disguised girl to give any more sensitive information. " Just the same name ? It would be so much of a coincidence !

\- But no, he's probably your Heiji : he's got our age and he has this Osaka's thick accent. He was in the hospital !"

_"Crap"_ Conan thought. They did tell Aoko not to say a word about Shinichi but they didn't plan Kazuha and her to meet... Well, now the cat was out of the bag... And he did his best to convince his best friend to call her, so Heiji was also to blame for what was going to happen.

"- The hospital ?! Which one ? Ran-chan, we're goin' ! " Kazuha commanded.


	11. RUM's Arc -Chap 11 - Declaration of Love

**Hi there !**

**Ok, last calm chapter before loads of action : )**

**Sorry for non-Heiji fans, there's once again a lil scene with him but since we won't see him before a few chapters... ****I wanted to have him there a last moment ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Blossom : Hmm the review was for chapter 3 so if you read more you probably saw there was some AoKai in chapter 9 and far more to go : ). Keep reading ; )**

**ForgetfulDaffodil : As regular as a clockwork, on Wednesdays ! Glad to know you're expecting them ^_^**

**Great : uh you do sound like an regular reader... I guess Shinshinjane maybe ?^^;; Sorry for the confusion if you're not. Well, more chapters incoming, just as planned :D**

* * *

**Chapter 11 : Declaration of Love**

* * *

In a silent dark room, somewhere, a shadowy silhouette was bent on his phone, apparently texting. The faint light of the screen showed a face with a large scar over the left eye. Only one thing could be heard : the phone, and his beeping was strangely sounding like "nanatsu no ko", the old children song...

_Friday, 11:22 pm_

"Couldn't retrieve Kudô Shinichi. He and his family are being protected, probably by the FBI."

RUM

_Friday, 11:25 pm _

"Noted. Our scientists are disappointed by your fault. You may want look for him again. What about the Kid?"

BOSS

_Friday, 11:34 pm_

"Challenged me next Wednesday evening, in MPD headquarters. Apparently was able to retrieve some data from the chip."

RUM

_Friday, 11:41 pm_

"Permission granted to use all ravens available in the building for the mission. He must be neutralized at all cost."

BOSS

_Friday, 11:43 pm_

"Catch or kill?"

RUM

_Friday, 11:46 pm_

"KILL"

BOSS

* * *

Conan used his old good "must go to the toilet" trick to send a text to the Osakan so he could mentally prepare himself to Kazuha's arrival. The girl was half walking, half running in the entrance of the hospital and was heading toward the reception's desk when she received a call.

"... Hattori-san ? Yes, I'm here, where is he ?"

"... Ok, we wait fer ya at the entrance, then."

She turned to the 2 other girls just behind her.

"- Heiji's mum is comin' ta fetch us here. But still, I don' get how ya met him, Kanako-chan ?

\- He helped me... It's a bit complicated but he..." Aoko began, a bit embarrassed. " I think it's better he tells you himself, I'm not sure already I should have told you he was here...

\- I'm glad ya did, even if it was a mistake" Kazuha pointed with a faint smile.

"- Kazuha-chan ?" Heiji's mother called for her as she arrived.

"- Hattori-san ! Tell me just what happe...

\- We'll speak later, in a quiet place." She advised softly with a suspicious look at the couple on her left." Please follow me."

She lead the four of them towards an isolated elevator and nodded to the 2 guards each side of it.

"- Guards ? " Ran noted, a bit startled to see they were barely hiding the weapons on their belts.

"- When Toyama-han explained Kazuha-chan it was dangerous, it wasn' a joke. Ya should have listened to yar father, Kazuha-chan" She scoled the girl with a serious face.

The woman had a small laugh at the girl's guilty attitude.

"- But well, bein' stubborn isn' necessarily a fault, above all fer a young woman," she finally winked. "As a mother, I'm glad ta see ya're so attached ta my son.

\- I'm not... " Kazuha tried to hide her blush behind both her hands but it was clearly visible.

The elevator stopped, opening on a bright corridor, with once again 2 guards.

"- What is that place ? " the Osakan girl wondered at such an heavy security.

"- High security aisle o' the hospital" the woman answered as she led them in the hallways. "The FBI uses it ta protect the important witnesses or agents who need ta be hospitalized.

\- The FBI ? " Ran asked with surprise in her voice.

"- Yes" Hattori's mother confirmed. After a few more meters, she stopped in front of a door. "Ok, here we are. First thing, I don' want anyone of ya to say ya've seen Heiji today. It's fer his safety." She then took one of the Osakan girl's arm in her hand and gently pulled it so the girl would face her. " Kazuha-chan, I agree with ya goin' there but I want ya ta promise me ta refrain from touchin' him and ta get him worked up. Try ta keep the scoldin' fer later.

\- … Was it that bad?" Kazuha asked, her eyes widened in fear while Aoko had a guilty look, feeling it was partly her fault.

"- Yes. But he's out o' danger now. Well, go in." She turned to both other girls and Conan."As ta us, I think it's better if we wait outside fer the time bein'."

* * *

"- Heiji ?" Kazuha called softly, closing the door behind her, a bit afraid to enter further into the room.

"- Hi, Kazuha !" he greeted with a smile. "Well, don' be shy, since ya forced yer way here... come an' grab a seat."

The girl came to his bed and sat on the nearby chair, looking at his friend sitting on the bed in a light green hospital gown, finding him a bit pale.

_"It was bad, his mother said"_ the Osakan girl remembered, impressed by the many devices around Heiji's bed. The dark-skinned detective seemed disconnected from all those, only one IV was remaining. But she still couldn't stop her eyes from getting watery, a mix of joy and sadness, feeling both relieved to see him at last and concerned about what he's been through and probably still was.

"- Hey, don' cry !" Heiji asked, noticing her shaking shoulders.

"- I was so worried" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands." They told me somethin' happened an' you wouldn' be comin' back fer a while ... I couldn' get anythin' more out of my father but it seemed serious... An' I find ya here, in an hospital room so, yes, there was somethin' ta worry about after all !" She raised her head and looked at him with anger, forgetting everything his mother asked. "What happened ? Why didn' ya tell me ?

\- Kazuha, it was for yer own safety... I didn' want ta take the risk ya bein' seen here..." Heiji felt a bit guilty, seeing her crying her eyes out. "I know I should have called... I wanted ta but I knew ya'll just rush here an' I didn' want ya ta worry any more... than ya already were ... It seems that part o' the plan failed" he added with a faint embarrassed smile.

"- Not ta worry ?" she looked into his eyes. " Yer mother just told me yar injuries were so bad I shouldn' even touch ya!

\- Ya know Kaa-san loves ta overact things...' " he sighed, taking Kazuha's hand in his. "See? No harm done. Just avoid hugs fer a while, will ya ?

\- As if I'd like ta hug an ahou like ya" she denied, a small smile to him on her face.

"- That's better, that's the Kazuha I know" Heiji pointed when he saw she was lighting up a bit."Yea, ya don' need ta get that upset fer an ahou like me...

\- Ya don' understand..." her face darkened as she lowered her head once again, looking at her knees. "When I left ya, ya were already hurt so, when ya stopped givin' news, I was imaginin' the worse... An' today I discover by accident I wasn' that far o' the truth...

\- I'm sorry... " He excused himself, squeezing her hand to make her look at him. "I won' do it again, ok ?"

She nodded at him and looked thoughtfully at her hand in his, her expression changing from concerned to determined.

"- Heiji... Goin' through all this these last days made me realize... It's been a while I want ya ta know an' if ya really had disappeared, I wouldn' have been able ta forgive myself... "

_"Crap, no way out"_ the west detective thought, seeing he was trapped to hear what she had to say and he knew where she was going...

"-... I love ya ! " She finished, scarlet faced, looking at his green eyes for a reaction. "Romantic way" she felt the need to clarify.

Heiji froze, mouth half-opened. Expecting those words and receiving them live wasn't exactly the same thing and he was sure he was as red as she was. But that really wasn't like this he wanted it to happen...

"- Come on, don' let me wait like that, gimme an answer, I start ta feel stupid !" Kazuha ordered after a few minutes of what was an unbearable silence for her.

"- I...

\- Ya ... ? " She kept staring at him with an interrogative look, her face at a few centimetres of his.

"- Rahh, stop pushin' me... !" he grumbled loudly, letting go of her hand." As if I'll tell ya... I love ya from an hospital bed, AHOU !"

He started having a coughing fit, his body contesting the effort of quarrelling with Kazuha.

"- Heiji ?! Are ya alright ?" she worried, as the door behind her opened on Mrs. Hattori.

"- Calm down, children, this is an hospital, I heard that last "ahou" even from the hallway..."

She saw her son visibly in pain and rushed to lower the bed's head so it would allow him to breath more easily.

"-Thanks..." he coughed with a hoarse voice, his fit calming down.

Kazuha filled a glass of water to give it to the teen.

"- I'm sorry... I know ya told me not ta get him worked up and that's exactly what I did...

\- I should have known a calm chat was impossible between ya an' Heiji..." The mother scolded, though her eyes were smiling.

"- Nah... That's also my fault..." Heiji admitted. He then turned to her "want-to-be girlfriend" . "Sorry, Kazuha... I'll answer ya properly... but it'll have ta wait... til I'm better, ok?"

She nodded to him.

"- If ya're done, let's get out, we need ta let him rest." the Osakan woman ordered.

"- Take care, Heiji !" The girl waved the detective good bye, trying to put a smile on her face, in spite of the feelings twirling in her chest.

"- Ya too... Say hi ta Nee-chan an'... K..Conan-kun fer me."

* * *

"- RAN!"

Panting, Conan woke up on his futon, a chill running along his spine at the reminiscence of the nightmare he just had.

Definitively, the incoming heist and the associated battle against RUM were getting on his nerves and feeding the wildest fears of his unconscious. He rubbed his eyes, as to get rid of the last images from his bad dream, a Ran killed by the Organization, nothing really new among his usual nightmares, and checked the alarm clock. 5 AM.

He crossed his arms behind his head, looking at the ceiling, the silence of the night only being disturbed by the snoring coming from Kogoro's bed. The boy knew he wouldn't be able to find any more sleep : he had been really tired after last case but he managed to get back the sleeping hours he needed on the previous weekend so, without the tiredness, the events planned for the next day were keeping him wide awake.

He thought once again of the previous days, and the plan the teens and he were setting up. Since he got out of the hospital, he had exchanged a few more times with the other detectives, even met with Kaito once, when he came to get back his glider by Agasa, as the inventor repaired it for him.

Saguru implied his father in their project, so they would have all the necessary accesses to the MPD's headquarters. It hadn't been easy to convince him as they had only indirect proofs but, even if they weren't really alike, Saguru's father knew his son wasn't a liar. And he didn't really appreciated to see his son coming back injured from his last case. James Black, who already exchanged with the Superintendent General, came as a Saguru's support to finish to convince him, briefing him with the most information about the Organization possible.

The officer was also the one who would ask Takagi, Sato and Megure to act as witnesses, on the advices of Conan. If everything went well, all the infiltrated agents would be lured in there, Matsumoto included, and they would all be stopped that night.

_"If everything went well..."_

* * *

The MPD headquarters were fully lighted and an heavy crowd was already waiting outside. The police had several choppers browsing the sky, circling around the building, their strong spots directed to the roof.

"- Look at that, They even have choppers ! " Aoko pointed as she lifted her head to the sky.

"- And there are so many lights, it looks like the night never fell..." Ran observed, impressive at the significant resources deployed to catch the Thief.

"- Ahh, but isn't it perfect ? Kid-sama will be shining in his white suit in the spotlight tonight !" Sonoko was already rejoicing in advance.

The Suzuki's daughter had invited Ran to come to the Kid's heist with her, hoping, as always, to be able to spot her favorite thief. Since Kazuha came back to Osaka, following for once Heiji's requests, Ran was a bit bored so she gladly accepted and decided to ask Kanako if she wanted to join. The girl also joined, looking quite thrilled to go to the Kid's performance.

"- Ran-neechan, could you please let go of my hand ? " Conan asked, a bit blushing.

"- It's not really safe, Conan-kun" she pointed with a motherly look. " There are really a lot of people, I don't want you to get lost.

\- But I thought I could go and say hello to Hakuba-niichan. I promised I would ! "

Ran rolled her eyes but didn't insist, knowing the boy's attachment to his various detectives and policemen "nii-chans".

"- Ok... But promise me you won't annoy anyone or end up in anything dangerous, ok ? I know you're Kaitou Kid's nemesis but tonight is different. He's attacking the police, so there will be many people to chase him without you meddling, right ?

\- Haaaai" the boy childishly answered, happy to be allowed to go so easliy.

"- And keep your phone close.

\- Yes! Can I leave now ?" He gave her his best begging look.

On her nod, he sneaked through the crowd and headed towards the building entrance, looking for Saguru. He spotted him actively speaking with a policeman, a high ranked one probably as he had many decorations on his vest, near a police truck.

"- Hakuba-niichan !" he called, from behind the police's security cordon.

"- Oh, Conan-kun ! " the teen recognized the kid after turning his head. "Let him in ! "

The policemen obeyed his order and let the small detective ran to the blond-haired.

"- Let me introduce you to my father" he said, presenting with sign of the hand the nearby plump brown-haired man with a moustache. "Father, here's Edogawa Conan, the boy who has been in touch with the Kid for us.

\- Oh, you're that brave child who dares to defy the Kid ? It looks like he recognized you as well as his nemesis, asking you to be his privilege interlocutor! " The high graded officer stated with a warm smile."You're starting becoming famous here, you know ? Being Mouri's assistant and all.

\- I am ? " Conan gave him his favorite childish smile, shyly blushing a bit. "it's all thanks to Kogoro-ojisan, you know, he's so good to solve the cases !

\- Yes, I guess his career wasn't with us the police but as a detective... He's grown quite nicely since he left us. You also want to be a metantei later I bet, Conan-kun ?

\- Yes !" the boy answered enthusiastically, hiding the dull look he had on his face a second ago as he had to present himself as Kogoro's apprentice.

"- Ahh youth " he laughed. "Well, my dear Saguru was as excited as you when he was your age... Though maybe not as brilliant or famous as you already are...

\- Stop it, Father... " Saguru interrupted while Conan tried quite poorly to hold a smirk. "Come on, Conan-kun, we should take our leave, my father still has many things to organize. We won't be far away, please call us when the time comes, Father.

\- Sure thing, son."

* * *

Both boys isolated themselves , out of reach of any unwanted ears.

"- Nice father you have, Hakuba" Conan pointed with a giggle. "Though it's quite hard to picture you're blood related.

\- Physically and mentally, I've taken more from my mother's side. For the best." He added with a slightly disgusted look when he saw his father laughing wholeheartedly with the inspector Megure. "Doesn't he have any decency ? He's the Superintendent General , for Kami's sake..."

The small boy smiled at the scene, hardly picturing Saguru laughing like that one day. Definitively mother-sided, that one.

"- So, Hakuba, anything new ?' He asked, after checking no one was around.

"- Well, as we planned, Matsumoto has been pretty active on the preparation of the heist, saying he had to look after it himself as he had been personally defied. Among the things he required, you will note the presence of a single team whose members he chose being allowed to go into the building during the heist to "avoid giving too many targets to disguise in for the Kid" he said. It sounds more like a firing squad to me.

\- I agree" Conan nodded. "Let me guess, the team has 12 members, Matsumoto included, and I know their police files by heart since Kid put them on my hospital bed last week ?

\- Exactly. All are our infiltrated agents.

\- It's half good news, half bad news" the small detective pointed with a thoughtful face."Good for us to be able to catch everyone at the same time but 6 against 12 might be too much for us to handle...

\- Yes" Saguru's eyes darkened. "But, Kudô-kun, that's not everything : Matsumoto also forbid any radio contact to avoid fake orders from the Kid and the panic it could provoke as he has the ability to change voices. I think it could be a problem if we need reinforcements... Someone will have to come back here to ask for help personally.

\- And still all these requests make sense in a fight against Kaitou Kid... We can't oppose to those. Well, it's too late to go back now but we'll have to be extremely cautious. I don't want anyone to end like Hattori after our last fight against the guy...

\- We should start crossing our fingers then..." Saguru stopped as he saw someone approaching them.

"- If it's not Conan-kun ! " Sato greeted, walking towards the detectives, Takagi on her heels. " Oh and Hakuba-kun also !

\- Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji, how are you since last time ?" the boy smiled at them.

"- Fine, we should be the ones asking" Takagi pointed with a serious face. "Sorry once again for our lack of attention... Is Hattori-kun alright ? He didn't seem at his top that day.

\- He was alright... Don't know any much more, I haven't heard from him since " Conan stated with a shrug.

_"Sorry guys, but as long as we don't know what Matsumoto told the Organization, we can't take the risk anyone to know he's alive..."_ Conan thought, giving a connivance look at the half British who was also aware of this policy.

"- He must be working on an important case, he is a detective after all" Saguru added. He then had a glimpse at his pocket watch. "07:44:56 pm, we should be going by now, Superintendent Matsumoto and his team will soon put themselves in their positions, what is Father waiting for ?."

Conan gave him a dull glance before rising his eyes to the sky.

_"Who the hell tells the time to the second ?" _he wondered.

He shook his head and followed the two officers and the teen to Hakuba's father.

* * *

The Superintendent General got them in without any comment from the guards though there may have been one or 2 raised brows at the strange team he had with him - three officers were alright but a teen and a boy, that was surprising. But he was the supreme authority here, so it came to the mind of no one to try to stop them, even with Matsumoto's orders. After taking the elevator to the last floor without a word, he walked them towards the media room. There were several rooms in the building they could have used but they chose that one as it was the closest to the roof, which would allow to intervene quickly if Kaito had any problem up there.

Saguru's father closed the door behind them and unexpectedly lost his usual smile.

"- Please take a sit" he proposed with a gesture at the chairs around the table in the middle of the room. He himself sat to front the 3 officers "I know my request probably surprised you, even if you were polite enough not to mention it. Let me explain in one word. Mole."

The three officers looked at him with bewilderment.

"- Here ? In the MPD headquarters ?" Takagi asked, still trying to clarify what he heard, unable to believe his ears.

"- Exactly. High ranked ones" the old man answered with a serious look.

"-Does it have anything to do with the strange note from the Kid for tonight's heist ?" Sato observed after a short pause.

"- It has all to do" the chief nodded, giving her an encouraging smile.

"- Did you identify who was the mole, sir ?" Megure enquired with concern.

"- MoleS, as there are several of them. I've been recently informed by a trustable source ... " he gave his son a glimpse "... that we probably had been infiltrated by an international criminal Organization and that the MPD was not to be trusted any more. This fact has been confirmed to me by our FBI's counterparts. We discovered, thanks to information the Kaitou Kid gave us through Conan-kun" the old man gave him a nod " those agents' names. There are twelve here, in Tôkyô. Eight in Osaka.

\- You're saying we have 12 moles here?! And how are the Kid and Conan-kun implied ? " the female officer wondered, astonished by the important number he announced. "How is it even possible ?

\- You just have to place an high ranked officer and have him support the others' applications " Saguru explained to her.

Megure's face enlightened as he understood and darkened again at the thought, measuring the consequences if his revelation was right.

_"Looks like we have a winner"_ Conan grinned to himself, after seeing the inspector's reaction.

"- As to the Kid" the teen added, "apparently some of the victims were related to him in an unknown way so he agreed to help us. But he asked to deal only with Conan-kun there.

\- For once he's on our side, he's not as bad as he seems finally ! " Conan said with a proud smile.

Then everyone turned silent as they were lost in their thoughts when Megure lifted his head again.

"-Are you implying the high ranked we are speaking about is Superintendent Matsumoto ?" he dared to ask, with a slightly shaking voice.

"- Yes, Megure-dôno... As impossible as it may seem, there isn't any doubt on his affiliation to that Orgainsation. He personally attacked my son who was working on this case and almost killed two of his friends. " Saguru rubbed his neck with a grimace at the memory. "He also has been implied in kidnapping and blackmail cases. Those accusations are serious and we unfortunately have only teenagers' witnesses, which is clearly not enough to support our file on him. That's why we're here tonight.

"- I can't believe it... " Sato shook her head incredulously.

"- It was also hard for me but that's the truth. To catch him red-handed, we imagined that operation with the Kid's help, whose goal was for once similar to ours. As you probably guessed, this whole operation is clearly tip toeing the line so I needed it to stay extremely secretive about it until the last minute. You will be asked by the internal affairs to repeat and describe everything you'll be witnessing tonight, is it alright to you ?"

As all three nodded their agreement, the old man got up to switch on the 6 screens on the wall and they showed different view of the roof.

"- We will receive the image through the choppers' cameras and will record it here. As to the sound, well, if you don't mind, Conan-kun.

\- Yes ! " the boy also got up and put one of Agasa's adhesive speaker near the control panel of the screens and added a voice recorder close by . " The Kid has a mike on him so we'll be able to listen and record what he says and hears. Just one thing : he asked to switch off your phones as it could trigger some interferences in his device and it could get him to be spotted..."

Everyone did as asked.

"- Please also consider anyone outside this room to be a potential enemy" Hakuba's father stated. "Only Matsumoto's team should be in the building and you know what to expect from them.

\- 07:59:32 pm" Saguru announced.

_"Let the show begin"_ Conan thought, switching the recorder on.


	12. RUM ARC - Chapter 12 - Face to face

**Here we are, a bit of action : )**

**The chapter is short but I had to stop somewhere and the cliffhanger would have been even more important if I stopped after so... A short one today, a longer next week ; )**

**It's also a bit angsty, things are starting to turn more serious, sorry for those not into it ! :p**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Wow so many reviews / followers / favourites this week, thank you! It definitively gives a warm feeling ; )**

**Opal spirit : Nope, no big changes, I was already happy with how this chapter turned out on the first try : ) Glad you like that KazuHei : p**

**Kameo1 : Oh, another KazuHei supporter, you have a great taste xD ****But yea, this scene is a bit how I see them, a Kazuha a bit pushy and an Heiji unable to accept his feelings, trying to hide behind the "it's not a good moment" excuse... More KH to go later ; ) **

**Silversapphire34523 : Thank you ^_^ **

**ForgetfulDaffodil : No worries, it's good to have some enthusiastic reviews xD**

**Samarth signhal 12 :****Thank you ! ****Yes, it didn't want it to just be "Hey, we've been attacked by MPD Number 2, please arrest him" so I imagined this "funny heist" to provoke him for the officers to witness he's really a traitor. At the end of chapter 11, Hakuba's father only informed them of that fact, it's difficult for them to really believe it yet... Hopefully our MPD officers will be convinced after this chapter 12 :p**

* * *

**Chapter 12 :****Face to face**

* * *

The spotlights on the choppers started to move by themselves, pointing in every direction.

"- Ladies &amp; Gentlemen !" Kid's voice announced dramatically, strong enough for everyone in the crowd to hear it.

All the lights focused again on the roof, enlightening Kaito's white suit while he was bowing to an imaginary public as he seemed to be alone at the top of the building.

"- Always this annoying taste for show, Kaitou Kid" a deep voice stated behind him.

"- Superintendent Matsumoto" The Thief smiled, turning to face to the policeman. "Fancy meeting you here tonight.

\- Since you invited me, I don't see anything _fancy_ in that, Kid. So, what is all that mess about ?

\- As I previously announced in my invitation card, I'm here to give to the police the names of the 12 infiltrated agents of a malevolent Organization among them. The one you belong to, RUM."

* * *

"- What Organization is he talking about ?" Megure asked, raising a brow under his hat.

"- Shh !" Conan put his finger in front of his lips to point he shouldn't speak.

* * *

"- So you did access to that chip... I'd really like to know how you did that without leaving any trace. Did that Kudô Shinichi helped you, like the other day ?

\- He has nothing to do with it. I'll modestly admit I'm gifted with IT, that's all." Kaito gave him his best poker face, exuding insolence.

"- You seem to have many qualities but none is useful for your survival. They just pile up to give me more reasons to kill you" He stated with an evil grin. He then touched his earplug and ordered "Shoot him".

Just above them, in one of the choppers, a sniper pressed his weapon's trigger.

* * *

All the faces were focused on the screen, seeing the Thief falling headfirst to the ground.

"- Wait, he just what ? The Kid never hurts anyone, he doesn't even carry a gun, why did he order that sniper to shoot ?" Sato wondered, her face full of incomprehension.

"- Shouldn't we go there and check ? " Takagi asked, waiting for an order from Megure or Hakuba's father before acting.

"- It won't be necessary..." Saguru assured them with a faint smile, "He wouldn't be the Kaitou Kid if he wasn't able to escape this".

* * *

Taking his gun out, Matsumoto approached slowly to check the motionless body and, after turning it with his foot, spotted a label "FAKE" pinned on what should have been the face.

_"Crap, a dummy" _he cursed, quickly glancing around.

"- Once again, you failed killing me, _RUM-chan_" the Thief stated with a derisive tone. "Though I would appreciate if your men stopped digging holes in my cape, it is starting to look like a patchwork" he deplored, looking at the white cloth on the floor.

"- You act all mighty but wait until I can lay a hand on your girlfriend again, Kid, you won't be so cocky then...

\- You'll never find her." he said with a determined look, coming out of his hiding place to glare at Matsumoto.

"- Have you forgotten the Organization I belong to ? An international criminal society so powerful we were able to infiltrate the highest ranks of the police ? Politicians, artists, scientists and influent personalities work for us. Ok, you're right, I may never find that girl but I wouldn't have any use for her. Your crimes and the legacy created by your father stop tonight, Thief.

\- I won't be so sure for mine if I were you... But what I know is that your legacy just ended here, Superintendent. Right now, everything you're saying is being broadcast and recorded. Thanks to those gents up here... " he explained before pointing at the choppers with his hand "...they even have a movie."

Matsumoto's eyes widened in surprise before he quickly composed himself again.

"- So that's what our little chat was about..." He shrugged, with a slightly annoyed look. "I just have to destroy the evidences and the witnesses along it... The images are broadcasted, you said ? They shouldn't be too far away... The media room of the last floor then ? "

Kid let a quick worried expression go through his face but, as fast as he'd been to regain composure, the Superintendent, looking for any reaction, spotted it.

"- Thank you" He grinned and once again touched his earplug "Team B, head there. Kill everyone in that room. Destroy all proofs.

\- Oy, did you hear that ?" Kid warned, speaking through the badge hidden on his vest." Bad guys incoming, take cover."

As he was talking, Kaito saw Matsumoto speaking again in the earplug but just caught the last word " ... intervene"

"- I think it's time we settle this, man to man" the Superintendent said, holstering back his weapon and taking a combat stance.

* * *

The policemen in the room all took out their guns at the same time.

"-Takagi, come with me " Sato ordered as she headed to the door.

Both officers went to each side of the door, back to back, fingers on the triggers, watching out for any movement coming from each side of the hallway. Megure also came closer to the exit, ready to help both his colleagues while Hakuba's father stayed behind, keeping an eye on the two boys.

"- Come here and stay behind me " he ordered.

Conan obeyed and retrieved his adhesive speaker and the voice recorder on the way, switching off both, so there wouldn't be any proof implying him or Agasa if they had to leave the room quickly. He was now trying to follow both the action in the media room and on the roof, thanks to the transmitter in his glasses.

"- Two coming from the left ! " Takagi spotted, taking cover as he was getting a few random shots as an answer. Sato came on his side and shot towards them.

"- One down" she stated, also taking cover.

"- If they were only 2, we can deal with the last one" Megure commented. "Drop your weapon and we won't harm you !" he shouted to the man.

After what seemed ages, they heard a loud thump. " Ok, I did it" he declared.

"- I'll arrest him " Takagi volunteered.

"- Careful, it could be a trap, I'm covering you" Sato said, her hand on her gun's grip.

The male officer threw a glance on the left side, to see the man hands up, his gun on the floor.

"- Push your gun towards us with your foot and then on your knees, hands crossed behind your head." he ordered firmly.

After a quick check to verify the man obeyed, he went out of the room, his female colleague just behind him. As she was turning, she caught a movement in the corner of her eye.

"- Takagi, back inside ! " She shouted, pushing him towards the entrance.

Hearing some gunshots behind him, the policeman turned at her, to see her fall to the floor, motionlessly.

"- MIWAKO !"

Without thinking, he jumped to retrieve her and carried her back inside while Megure started to shot to the right to cover him, where three other men appeared. The shootout stopped as fast as it began but, as the inspector glanced to the left, to check Takagi was inside again, he noticed the last man on that side had retrieved his weapon.

"- Let it go !" he ordered. "I don't want to have to shoot..."

As an answer, the man pointed his gun at him and he had no other choice than to shoot, aiming for the agent's shoulder.

"- Two down" He darkly stated when the man fell with a grunt. "Three to go. How is she ?" he enquired, eyes still guarding the right side.

The three others came to help Takagi, who was still holding Sato in his arms, his face worried to tears. As Conan approached, he noticed the female officer had been hit by at least two bullets in the torso, clearly implying she needed immediate medical attention.

"- It's better to let her lie down" Saguru pointed with a soft voice.

As Takagi let her go, though it was visible it was hard to him, the teen crouched, removing his vest to put it under the female officer's head.

"- We need some medic "he declared with concern in his voice after a quick check, as he removed his scarf and used it to apply pressure on one of the injuries. "The other wounds seem superficial but I can't see the exit point of the bullet that went through her stomach, she could be having an internal bleeding.

\- One of us needs to go at the entrance of the building" his father said with an annoyed look. "No help will come if we use our radios... Damn those orders from Matsumoto, we need to ask in person."

* * *

Matsumoto threw himself at the Kid with all his might, the wound on his shoulder already forgotten and, as agile as he may be, Kaito understood he wouldn't be able to avoid the man's punches for a long time. With his cape full of holes, using the glider wasn't an option so the Thief's only way out was through the building. As he was getting to that conclusion, eyes and body focused on the infiltrated agent, he avoided his hits while gradually stepping in the roof's door direction.

After avoiding a few more punches, seeing the exit was just a few meters away, Kid threw a smoke bomb and jumped to open the door while his aggressor was coughing in the fumes. He was still holding the handle of the half opened door when he spot two shadows inside and, before he could even react, felt two small darts into his right leg. His vision blurred as he felt an electrical charge go through his body, forcing him on his knees on the floor with a grunt due to the intense pain. The two men, probably the ones who received the "intervene" order Mastumoto gave beforehand, came out the staircase, weapons in the hand.

"- Taser... ?" he groaned with a faint voice when he spot the item in the hand of one of his opponents.

"- Exactly" Matsumoto answered, before punching Kaito's face, sending his hat and monocle flying. The Thief fell on the ground, barely grasping to consciousness.

_"I definitively hate your plans, Kudô..." _

* * *

Understanding the Thief was in danger, Conan took advantage of the apparent calm and the fact their aggressors were on the opposite side of the roof's door to rush out of the media room.

"- Conan-kun, where are you ...?" Megure tried to stop him. "Takagi, after him, we can't have a boy running in the hallways with those guys out !

\- But... " he threw a look at Sato, her hand in his, still lying on the floor.

"- We'll look after Sato-kun, just go !

\- Yes sir !"

Takagi hurried after the boy, weapon in the hand, as Megure shot a few times to divert the attention of their opponents who were starting to appear again. He succeeded in touching one of them by pure luck but paid for it, as a bullet ended in his left leg. He threw himself into the room and stayed on the floor, holding his wounded limb.

"- I'll take care of them." The superintendent said, going to the door as he saw the inspector wasn't able to guard the entrance anymore.

"- Are you alright ? " Saguru inquired, noticing the man was hurt.

"- It's just a scratch but I won't be able to stand for a while.

\- Then could you come here and apply pressure on Sato-san's injury in my stead ? I may be able to help in another way."

Megure crawled to reach them and took the bloody scarf the blond haired used to compress the woman's wound. Hands now free, Saguru retrieved Sato's gun and got up to help his father.

"-What do we do now ?" the teen asked with a low voice.

"- As long as those two are in the corridors, we are all in danger and we can't bring a medical team here..." his father whispered back.

"- So we need to catch them ?

\- Yes, I can't see any other way. Once we've neutralized them, we can go downstairs and get some help.

\- Ok." Saguru agreed.

"- Megure-dôno, can we let you look after Sato-kun ?" the Superintendent asked, raising his voice a bit louder.

"- Yes, sir. But please be quick... For her." He was clearly worrying about the female officer he considered as his daughter.

"- We'll do our best." he guaranteed. "I'll lock the door with my master key once we leave, it's not much but it could slow down your unwanted guests if there are some."

Megure nodded to his superior. "- Good luck" He added, to Saguru and his father.

"- Let's go, son."

* * *

"- Take his vest off and hold his arms."

Half conscious, a trickle of blood running over the right side of his face, from his forehead until his chin, Kaito felt cold as he was having his vest removed unceremoniously and two pairs of icy hands grabbing his arms to put him back on his feet. Matsumoto slapped the teen to awake him completely, stopping when the Thief opened his eyes again.

"- Here we are, Kaitou Kid, with me overpowering you once more... As I said before, your legacy is ending tonight. There's only one question left for you... " Matsumoto concluded, taking his gun out and holding it to the teen's left shoulder, just next to the bullet proof jacket whose shape was visible under his shirt. "Where is Kudô Shinichi ?

\- Who ?" The Thief answered with his best insolent smile.

The Superintendent returned his smile to him but it was far more threatening.

"- I'm so glad you answered this."

And he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Conan's face turned white when he heard the shot... _"Faster !"_

"- Conan-kun, wait for me, it's dangerous ! " Takagi shouted, still trying to keep up with the kid who was running at full speed through the hallways.

* * *

Kaito couldn't hold back a cry as he felt the bullet go through in his shoulder. His legs were giving up under him but the 2 men behind him were holding firmly his arms to keep him standing, generating more pain as he was adding weight on his injured shoulder.

"- Next try. Next shoulder. Where is he ?

\- Behind you... ready to arrest you... oldie." He forced himself to face him with another insolent smirk on his face, trying to ignore the present pain and preparing for more to come.

* * *

"-Kid !" Conan shouted as he slammed himself against the door to open it, hearing the gunshot and Kid's second shout both through his glasses' transmitter and in the immediate vicinity.

A second later, an high speed soccer ball ended just right into Matsumoto's face, knocking him properly down.

_"I promised I'd kick his ass for you, Hattori."_ He thought, looking at the unconscious form in front of him.

The 2 men, spotting their boss on the floor, let the Thief fall to the floor unceremoniously and got their weapons. Takagi reached the roof at last, gun in the hand, panting to catch his breath when he saw the BO members facing Conan with a threatening glare.

"- Police ! Let your weapons down and rise your hands ! " he ordered, raising his gun and thinking with regret he would never have thought to give that sentence one day to some of his colleagues.

As they turned to the cop, the boy used his watch to neutralize one of them and, seeing the other man was going to push the trigger, the officer had to shoot him down. As Takagi approached to check the 3 men were indeed neutralized, Conan rushed to Kaito, now lying on his side on the floor, eyes closed.

"- Kid, come on, answer me !" The small detective couldn't stop from panicking, as the Thief wasn't reacting to him and the wounds he could spot – a bloody spot on his head and both shoulders bleeding and tainting his blue shirt in a dark scarlet – weren't to reassure him. "Kuroba !" he tried, whispering.

"- Let's keep with "Kid"... when we're in public..." the teen faintly demanded.

"- Kid ?! I'm sorry... It's my fault" the small detective deplored softly with a guilty look.

"- You shouldn't... give yourself so ... much credit... Tantei-kun" Kaito mocked with a feeble voice.

Takagi approached them, noticing with relief that, even if he couldn't hear him, he could see the Thief's lips move as he was answering to the boy.

"- We knocked out 2, the last one is dead. " he informed while crouching near the two of them.

His face displayed the greatest surprise as he saw Kaitou Kid without his usual hat and monocle, expecting some one much older. It was even harder to see a teen hurt like this.

"- Good to know" Conan thanked. He took Kaito's hand in his to encourage him. "Hold on, we'll call some help, ok ?"

The teen nodded to signify he heard the kid, too tired to speak.

"- Takagi-keiji, could you bring me the remains of his cape so I can make some bandage ? And could you call Hakuba-niichan's father so he sends some medical assistance here ?

\- Sure. Let's just hope he switched back his phone..."


	13. RUM's Arc - Chapter 13 - Find a way out

**Ok, this chapter is another one with just action... But there had to be some like these to kick RUM's ass, right ? :p**

**I think next week will be a double release, to celebrate the 5000 views, please look forward it ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Yup ^^ Well, you'll see once the arc is over (2-3 chapters left I think), if you still feel some stuff are missing, pm me.**

**SilverSapphire34523 : Uh, yea, as I said this arc is soon over but the whole story is made of 4 arcs so we are somewhere in the middle of it, lots of stuff still coming ; )**

**Samarth singhal 12 : This one is longer,****as promised ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 13 : Find a way out**

* * *

"- Apparently his phone is still off... " Takagi grumbled, when he gave the white cape to the boy. "What's that chopper doing ? " He complained as a spotlight dazzled him for the third time since he arrived on the roof.

Having a bad feeling, Conan let go of Kid's hand and used his glasses to zoom on it.

_"Crap..." _he thought, as he identified the man and the woman on board as two infiltrated, thanks to the photos he saw in the police files.

"- Takagi-keiji, help me with the Kid, we need to go back into the building." He said, getting back to his feet. " It's the chopper with the sniper who tried to shoot him earlier !

\- What ? How do you...

\- There's a time for questions and it's not now ! We need to move and get inside !"

As to support Conan's speech, a bullet grazed the officer's arm, ending into the concrete floor at his feet.

"- Wow..." Boosted up by adrenaline, the policeman quickly grabbed one of Kaito's arms and put it around his shoulder, holding the teen by the waist with his free hand.

"- I'm sorry but there's no other way..." Takagi sighted with guilt as he got a painful grunt from the Thief when he was lifting him.

In the meanwhile, Conan tore a big piece of the cape and pocketed it.

"- Let's go !"

Passing by one of the infiltrated agents, the boy noticed a taser in his belt and, as he had used all his other weapons, he took the electrical gun under Takagi's questioning look.

"- Your hands are full with the Kid, we have to protect ourselves and even a child like me can use that kind of weapon." Conan explained, once they locked the roof's door behind them.

"- Do you think there are more of those guys ?

\- They were twelve. Even with the ones we neutralized, there should still be some wandering in the building...

\- Ok... Well, I think we should try to get downstairs, we need to get out to have him treated. " he proposed, giving a worried look at the panting teen he hold on his shoulder.

"- Yes but first we have to patch him up to stop the bleeding. Can you put him down ?"

Takagi sat the teen against the nearby wall and helped Conan to remove the Thief's shirt and bulletproof vest. Now that he was topless, both wounds in each of Kaito's shoulders clearly visible.

"- Could you straighten him a bit ? I need to see his back" the small detective explained, trying to swallow and forget the fact Kaito was in such a bad shape by his fault, without really succeeding.

The officer obeyed, moving the teen with the most care possible as Conan was checking on his back. The child sighted with relief when he noticed he could see the bullets' entry-exit points.

"- Ok, good thing, the bullets are out. I need to bandage those wounds to compress all this but it won't be pleasant... Kid, still ok to you ?

\- Yea..."

Conan expertly wrapped up Kid's shoulders with some parts of the torn cape, trying not to hurt him too much when he was already looking like hell. As to him, the Thief was fighting to stay awake and not to groan as the small detective was treating his wounds.

"-Where do you learn all those things..." The cop commented, more for himself.

He looked to the boy's eyes as he turned to him and opened his mouth to answer. "And don't give me your "I saw it on TV" excuse, what I see here is practical experience..."

_"Damn, he's starting to know me too well " _the boy had a faint smile, looking back at him, a bit amused by the fact the officer anticipated his answer.

"- Sorry, Takagi-keiji but you already have my answer on the subject. You won't have anything else than the one I already gave you in the bombing case of the Tôkyô Tower. " he answered, getting his eyes and hands back at the injured teen.

"- You'll explain in the afterlife ? I'm not in such a hurry going there, thanks...

\- Finished !" the boy concluded, wiping his bloody hands on his pants. "I'm sorry, Kid, but we have to move you again.

\- For once I... wanted to stay still" he succeeded to joke.

"- Pretty soon, don't worry" Conan said, as he gave him an encouraging smile. "Could you lend him your vest, Takagi-keiji ? He's going to catch a cold, hanging around bare-chested. "

The policeman took it off and the boy helped him to put it on the Thief : it was a bit too big but it made it easier to pass it on the teen. Takagi then lifted him again, as gently as possible, trying not to pull too much any of his arms.

"- Ready to go. " he said, once he had the teen back on his shoulder.

"- Where to ?" Conan asked after taking the taser out of his pocket.

"- There are a dozen steps and then left corridor to the elevators.

\- I'll be opening the way." The boy volunteered as he started to go down the stairs, his small hands around his weapon's handle. "Takagi-keiji" he started, a bit worried by the request he was going to have to do, "I know I'm perhaps asking for too much but could you please refrain mentioning anyone this teen is the Kid ? He's not disguised any more but.. you saw him.

\- Conan-kun... ?" The boy could feel the surprised look of the officer on his neck. "Why ?

\- He's in this mess for me..." Conan turned to him with his Shinichi-alike serious expression, not really suited to a kid." Because I asked him to help us uncovering Matsumoto, it would be unfair for him to be busted because of that...

\- You sure understand that, as a policeman, I can't cover for a criminal... " Takagi stopped to look into the small detective's eyes. "Unless you give me a good reason to, Conan-kun ?

\- You're quite the obstinate one, aren't you ?" The boy noticed with an annoyed look, but he really didn't have time to waste on this and he needed the policeman's full cooperation." I..." the small detective sighted as he removed his glasses.

"- You don't have ... to do that for me... " Kaito tried to stop him, guessing what Conan was going to do.

"- Oh yes, I do. You've already exposed yourself so much for me, when I cowardly kept hiding behind that facade. Let me share some of the risks.

\- Boys ?" the officer wondered, not really understanding what was happening.

"- Takagi-keiji, please do not tell that to anyone but... I'm the high school detective Shinichi Kudô.

\- You're... what?! But... But... Shinichi-kun is what... 17 years old ? " The policeman was lost between bewilderment and understanding but apparently couldn't choose yet which one he was going to.

"- Yes, that's my age. Even, if at the moment, I'm stuck as a first-grader. We both know the way I act, even if I try to hide it, can't be one of a 7 years old, right ?" He pointed with an ironic smile. "That's because I aren't. Small boys don't go defusing bombs, do they ?

\- I was expecting a lot of things but that... Ok, your face is a bit Kudô-like without those glasses but... Why the size change ? And the link with the Kaitou Kid ?

\- To make it short, the change is the result of an experimental drug I was fed with by the ones employing Matsumoto and I needed to keep a low profile to avoid them to go after my relatives. As to the Kid, let's say he's working under cover for me and I need him to be free to bring that Organization down.

\- Work for you ? ... That's quite the way... to put it" The Kid smirked.

"- I've always had my way with words " Conan smirked back at him.

He looked at the officer again, noticing he was lost in his thoughts and he'll probably need a long time before sorting them all.

"- I'm sorry to have to hurry you, Takagi-keiji, but we should move before our friends upstairs wake up and begin to try to break down the door. About my request, I'll understand if...

\- I'll do it" Takagi looked straight at the boy's eyes. "For the moment. But only if you promise me you'll answer all my questions when we'll be in a safe place. I'll make my decision as to what I believe or not after that.

\- I promise I'll give you all the answers I possess, unless they endanger someone else" the small detective nodded.

"- Thanks" the Thief added.

The 3 of them moved forward again and reached the door at the bottom of the stairs.

"- One sec, I go check first" Conan stated, pushing cautiously the door to look on each side of the corridor. "Clear !

\- So let's turn left, the elevators are 30 meters away, a bit further on the right." The policeman whispered.

They were slowly advancing in the hallway, trying not to push Kaito too hardly, when they heard a loud metallic bang.

"- Definitively upstairs, I guess our friends woke up and are trying to force the door..." the boy pointed. He rushed the last meters and call one of the elevators. "Do you have anything left for a diversion, Kid ?

\- I still have my ... card gun and some... smoke bombs.

\- I'll take them all." He said, pocketing the stun gun and coming near the Thief.

"- What do you plan to do ?" the officer asked, stopping near the elevator while Conan was searching in the Kid's trouser's pockets to get what he needed.

"- Diversion. Both of you will go downstairs, I'll play with them a bit so you can escape. I'll catch up with you later.

\- This is too dangerous, Conan-kun" Takagi threw a worried look at him.

"- I'm dangerous too, you know" the boy grinned evilly, Kid's card gun in the hands.

"- Button on the side... of the grip to detonate... the cards at will" the Thief specified.

"- Oh, new feature ?" Conan wondered, shooting a card without exploding it in the hallway, between the roof's door and the place they were.

"- As an international thief... I always need to have... the state-of-the-art gadgets." Kaito proudly smiled.

After what seemed ages, the elevator's doors opened with a ringing noise.

"- Take care of him, Takagi-keiji " Conan asked, hands clenched on the card gun's handle, ready to blow the card he threw in the hallway up at the first sight of the enemy.

"- Count on me. And you, be cautious, you promised you'll give me answers after all that, don't try to escape again with your "afterlife" thingy.

\- I'll do my best not to disappoint you... " the boy smiled, also not really eager to reach the afterlife that soon. " See you laters, Kid.

\- 'Laters, Tantei-kun..."

* * *

Ran frowned at her phone before pocketing it once again.

"- Everything alright ? " Aoko enquired, spotting the girl's worried face.

"- I can't reach Conan-kun, I've tried to call him thrice but I only get his voice mail...

\- Let the brat to whatever he's doing" Sonoko said with a bored look. "Ahh, where is Kid-sama ? " she complained, theatrically raising her hand to her head. "We saw him only a few seconds...

"- But there were gunshots up there" Ran pointed, still frowning with concern. She sighted and now her face was determined "I'm going to ask the policemen if they saw him.

\- I'm coming with you" the disguised girl volunteered.

Kaito had told her not to worry about him during the heists and not to show up too openly but she couldn't help it. He was... She slightly blushed when she remembered their discussion at the hospital. He was taking all those risks so she could go back to her normal life, it wasn't fair to ask her not to get anxious.

"- ... Kanako-chan ?" Ran called, waving her hand in front of the girl's eyes.

"- Oh sorry, I was lost in my thoughts...

\- We were saying we were going to head to the main entrance, Sonoko accepted to come as she didn't want to be left alone" the long brown haired teen explained, pointing her head at her friend who was already walking in that direction.

"- You're coming ?" Sonoko asked from afar.

"- Yes ! "

The 3 girls crossed the crowded place towards the Headquarters' front doors and reached the security cordon.

"- I'm sorry ma'ams but no one can come in" a policeman stopped them as he saw they were trying to pass.

"- I'm looking for a boy, Edogawa Conan-kun, I know he came here..." Ran started.

"- Ran-san ?

\- Ah, Shiratori-keibu ! " she waved at the inspector who was passing by.

"- Let them in ! It's ok, I'll vouch for them.

\- Yes Sir !" the man answered, letting the female teens in.

Once they came near the officer, they exchanged a polite bow.

"- How are you Ran-san ?" Shiratori asked her with a smile. "You came for the heist ?

\- Yes, with a few friends as you can see" she explained. "I was also with Conan-kun but he disappeared. He said he was going to meet Hakuba-kun...

\- I don't know for Conan-kun but Hakuba-kun was with his father, the superintendent general." He looked a bit around, looking for them. "They came into the building, it seems there are still in there. Look, they are going out, we can ask them if you want. " He proposed after spotting the two men at the front doors.

The four of them headed to meet the officer and his son, noticing they were both looking tired and worried : clearly something was wrong.

"- Shiratori-dôno ! " The old man called as he saw the inspector."There's been a shootout at the top floor, we have several casualties, we need a medical team and an intervention team to support them.

\- What ?! I thought the Kid was non-violent ?" Shiratori wondered.

"- No, it wasn't him... " Saguru said, shaking his head. " It's far worse than that.

\- Shiratori-dôno, we have a problem" his father added with a serious face. "There are criminals among us : a small group of colleagues turned against us and shot at first sight, Sato-kun and Megure-dôno are injured... Because of that damn order from Matsumoto-dôno, we couldn't use our radios to warn you. "

The inspector turned as white as a ghost when he heard two of his colleagues, his friends even, had been hurt. "I'll be personally supervising the preparation of the teams right now, I think ten minutes will be needed... Can you fill me with the details ? "

The girls looked at the two men going away, chatting, and saw Shiratori's usual composure disappear as he was listening to his boss, calling his men at the same time, shouting orders to everyone.

"- Hakuba-san" Ran approached him. "Have you heard from Conan-kun ? I can't find him and he doesn't answer his phone. Don't tell me he's in there...

\- Ran-kun" the blond haired detective tried to use a soothing tone. "We switched off our phones, that's probably why you cannot reach him. He was with us but we've been separated. He should be with Takagi-keiji right now, he'll be safe.

\- "Should" ? So you're not sure ? You're saying he could be alone in the middle of a shootout ?!" Her eyes widened in fear at the idea as Hakuba wasn't denying it.

"- Ran-kun, please calm down, he'll be ok, he's a resourceful boy, isn't he ?

\- He's just 7 years old !" she reminded him, looking at the young detective as if he was talking nonsense. " And the rescue team won't be here before another ten minutes ?!

\- That's the best we can do..." Hakuba's father concluded, as he was coming back to his son and overheard the end of the conversation. "Please trust us, we'll get him out safe and sound."

The girl tried to cool herself down and nodded at the policeman. At her distress, Sonoko patted her shoulder.

"- Come on Ran, you know Conan-kun is quite the smart one, he'll be alright", she said with an encouraging smile.

"- Yes, I know... Just let me walk a bit alone to calm down, I need it" she asked her friend, putting her own hand on hers. "I won't be too far", she added, walking away.

_"So much could happen in ten minutes, I need to go and help him!" _she thought, clenching her fists.

The girl walked along the building and, stopping at some point, threw a quick glance behind her to check no one was looking at her anymore. She'd been so many times in that place when she was younger, with her mother, while her father was still a cop, she still remembered every corner of the MPD HQ.

_"I hope it's not locked "_

She pushed the door and smiled when it opened, letting her into the building.

Blinking at the strong lights in the corridors, she waited a quick instant to get used to the strong lightning. Just as if she came to the place just the last day, she headed to the elevators' hall and pushed one of the call buttons.

_" "Shootout at the last floor" Hakuba-san's father said"_, she remembered. _"Let's start there."_

* * *

"- Thanks" Saguru took the water bottle the girl who introduced herself as "Kanako" had been fetching for him.

He was resting, sitting on the stairs, waiting for the rescuing team to be ready to try to join them and to look for Conan and Kaito.

"- Anytime..."

She was looking at him, as if she was waiting for something, so the detective observed her more intensely.

_"This way to look at you... and this voice... I know both but who..."_ He tried to concentrate.

"_Aoko-kun !"_ He retained himself to call her out loud at the last moment.

He looked a bit around, spotting Sonoko sitting on the stairs a little further with her phone in the hand but there wasn't anyone else.

"- Aoko-kun ?" he asked softly.

She nodded discreetly with a small smile. "-_ He _told me not to tell anyone but since you guessed... I won't hide it.

\- _His_ mother did a great work." he stated admiringly, looking at any sign that could give up her disguise, without finding one. "It's really hard to spot...

\- Yes, Chikage-san is really gifted, just like her son... I wanted to ask..." Her eyes were now worried.

"- About _him_ ?" Seeing she was nodding again, he went on. "We've also been separated... He was with Matsumoto on the roof and..." he hesitated a moment, as he didn't want her to worry more than she already was.

"- The truth please." she demanded with a hard look.

"- Something might have happened up there, I can't picture any other reason for Conan-kun to rush out the room like he did... But I must admit I don't know what.

\- Thank you, for being honest".

She tried to keep a straight face but Saguru could see her eyes were watery and she was slightly shivering.

"- You know he's able to get out of the worse situations..." he gently smiled at her. "This time shouldn't be any different... And Conan-kun is on his side this time, they are quite an efficient team together...

\- How can a boy be able to defend him against bullets...? " she ironically asked.

"- You shouldn't underestimate that small detective" Hakuba smiled. "Speaking of him, have you seen Ran-kun ?

\- No, she walked over there a few minutes ago" Aoko pointed a direction with her hand." But I didn't see her coming back..."

Saguru jumped on his feet, having a bad feeling.

"- No, she didn't..." he said for himself, recognizing the way for a side entrance. "But she looked so worried back there...

\- Hakuba-kun ?

\- Please stay here, she shouldn't be far away, I'll get her back."

The teen walked to the side door and went in, taking once again Sato's weapon in his hand as he kept it with him, heading to the elevators' hall. As he was slowly advancing this way, he noticed one of the elevators was descending to the first floor so he quickly flattened himself against a wall, ready to intervene. He froze when he recognized the ones in the elevator when it opened with a ringing noise.

"- Kuroba-kun !" he called, coming near the two men, noticing the teen was being steadied by the police officer, looking really pale.

"- He's out" Takagi pointed, getting a better grip on the teen with a grunt.

"- What happened... " Saguru couldn't miss the wound on his friend's face and the rough bandages and barely wiped blood traces visible under the vest on his shoulders.

"- Matsumot... Watch out !" The cop warned, staring at something behind the teen.

The blond haired turned to the direction the officer was looking at, weapon raised, and felt a burn on his left thigh. Ignoring the small bullet graze, he shoot randomly at the two policemen he spotted at the end of the hallway, one male, one female, touching that last one by pure luck. He took cover in the elevator, with Takagi and the Kid, hitting the button to close the doors.

The officer gently sat the knocked out Thief on the floor, back against the metal wall, and took out his weapon. He gave a look at Saguru, showing to him three fingers up for a countdown. The teen nodded, rising his weapon and readying to open the doors again with his free hand.

3...2...1 The last finger went down, and the doors opened directly on the last man.

Taken by surprise as he was expecting him to be further away, Takagi didn't succeed to aim before receiving a punch into the head which sent him on the ground. With another quick move, the well-trained man send a strong high kick to neutralize Saguru's armed arm, flattening him against the elevator. As his face's left side was slammed against the metallic wall and feeling his right arm cracking under the fighter's military shoe, the teen couldn't retain a pained cry and slid to the floor as his legs gave under him. Unable to move, he couldn't react, seeing the man was bending to finish him off but Takagi, who succeeded to keep his weapon in his hand in spite of the shock, aimed for the man's shoulder as he was still lying on the ground. With a dull sound, he felt on the floor near Saguru who quickly grabbed with his left hand the weapon he let go to finish him off with a hit of its butt.

"- Are you alright ?" Takagi asked, feeling a bit lightheaded due to the punch he just received, wiping the left side of his face from the blood coming out from a wound above his brow.

"- I think my right arm may be broken... " the teen grimaced as he tried to move it. He suddenly remembered why he was here. "Have you seen Ran-kun ? She probably came in a few minutes ago looking for Conan-kun...

\- No, she's here ?! Do you know where she was heading to ?

\- Probably the last floor.

\- I didn't cross her... Conan-kun's here also." the cop worried, getting up. "I need to go back there, we didn't catch them all, they are both in danger.

\- I'm coming with you ." Saguru also went on his feet, though with more difficulties, holding his wounded arm.

"- No you won't, not in this state. Instead, please take care of him" he asked with a move of the head at the Kid. He looked at him in his eyes. "Apparently, you know him ? "

The teen nodded, trying to decipher the policeman's expression.

"- So did Conan-kun. He explained me he was just a ... passerby. Please keep it at that."

_"He knows"_ the detective guessed with bewilderment_. "How did Kudô-kun manage to convince him to cooperate... ?"_

"- I will." the blond haired answered, shaking off his surprise. "Good luck. The reinforcement should come in... " he took out his watch from his pocket with his good hand "... 2 minutes 45 seconds. I'll send them to the last floor.

\- Thanks."


	14. RUM's Arc - Chapter 14 - Down at last

**Heya ! As promised, double release today : ) **

**You'll find the two last chapters for this arc, we'll start a new one next week ; )**

**By the way, I also updated today the previous chapters (no big changes, just a few little things added, some small corrections...).**

**This chapter closes the action. I was planning at the beginning to make it absolutely cliffy but well... decided not to be too hard with you :p**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Yup, she's an idiot... But a courageous one, that's what makes her cute ^_^**

**SilverSapphire34523 : End of the suspense ! ; )**

* * *

**Chap 14 : Down at last**

* * *

The door leading to the roof was slammed open when the elevator closed on Kaito and Takagi. At the noise, Conan pushed the button to explode the card he sticked earlier in the ground and threw some others randomly before running further into the corridor.

_"Damn !"_ he thought, noticing there were 3 men including Matsumoto. _"That's what took them so long, they waited for the chopper to land to get more manpower...", _

His deduction appeared to be right when, as the smokes were slightly fading, he recognized the female pilot's and the male sniper's faces.

Good thing, apparently the one he put to sleep with his watch was still in the arms of Morpheus. And Matsumoto wasn't looking at his best, with his nose bleeding. But still, the game of hide-and-seek was going to be harder than expected...

"- Try and catch me, oldie !" he taunted, using the voice changer bow to mimic Kid's insolent tone.

"- Get that damn Thief !" Matsumoto roared, disappearing in the smoke emitted by another card Conan just blew up.

"- Over here !" the woman coughed, noticing a shadow going away, trying to go after him.

_"Wrong move"_ the small detective thought with a grin, before using the taser on her, as he was crouching in the fumes.

After a flash, the woman fell down with a moan, knocked out.

_"One down"_ Conan let the now useless taser on the floor and rushed away, sending a smoke bomb behind him.

The building was shaped as a triangle, so he planned to loop and go back to the elevators, hoping Takagi and Kaito would have escaped for long before he came down.

"- I'm surprised you can still run like that" Matsumoto pointed with a strong voice, trying not to sound too annoyed when he reached the woman knocked out on the floor so he wouldn't flatter the Thief's ego. He was walking slowly, careful of any trap, his gun in the hand, his man just behind him.

"- It's not my fault you kick like a girl, RUM-chan" Conan teased, still Kid-voiced, to anger him, waiting for any mistake.

After one turn and some other explosive cards, the boy spotted a fire bucket and took it, as it could do a great job with his power-enhancing kick shoes.

"- I must say I'm a bit bored of this hide-and-seek game and of all this smoke, Kid.

\- Well, I'm not. You should know we, thieves, enjoy hiding in the shadows."

Taking advantage of the second turn, the small detective hid in the corner and stopped sending smoke, putting his bucket on the floor, ready to shot.

"- There you are... " Matsumoto began, once passing the corner out of the smoke. "What ? Conan-kun ?!"

Conan grinned at him and kicked the bucket at high speed towards the Superintendent's head. The man avoided it with a quick move but it ended in his accomplice's head, knocking him down.

"- You won't have me twice with that trick, boy."

_"Crap !"_ Conan sent a smoke bomb and ran away, zigzagging as the man started to shot aimlessly in the corridor. It was the final stretch, the elevators were at the end of it, if he could just rush his way there, he would be safe. But no matter how hard he tried, he noticed he was slowing down, suddenly feeling less energetic, his breath shorter and his ears ringing. His right hand went to his side without him ordering his brain to do so, making him lowering his head, spotting his shirt was turning red. With the comprehension came the pain. He put his other hand on the wall not to fall and bit his lip, closing his eyes an instant to keep control of himself and avoid fainting.

"- Conan-kun ?"

_"Damn, am I already out? I'm hearing Ran's voice..."_

"- Conan-kun ?!" The voice seemed strangely closer this second time.

_"Hehe, strange, usually, she calls me Shinichi when I dream of her..."_ he thought with a silly smile.

Leaving his half asleep state, he suddenly opened his eyes as he understood with the greatest panic Ran was really here, when Matsumoto wasn't far away.

"- Ran?! What are you doing here ?! It's dangerous !" Conan couldn't believe his eyes, so shocked he even forgot the "nee-chan", this day was starting to look like his last night's nightmare : Ran melding in a fight with the Organization.

"- I..." she began, hesitating at the scolding tone, feeling half guilty then remembered who she was talking to."It's not a place for a little boy either ! What happened ? Are you hurt ?!

\- I ..." Conan spotted the Superintendent at the corner of his eye. "Come on, go in, quick !"

Forgetting his pain as he knew Ran was in danger, he took her hand and opened the nearest door, hearing some bullets sticking into the nearby wall as they came in. They ended to what seemed to be a conference room, with its tier of seats and tables. After closing the door behind them, the bespectacled detective dragged the girl under the third row's tables and hid them under them, panting, his hand back on his side. Ran's eyes widened as she noticed the blood covering the small boy, seeing it was mainly his without a doubt as she spotted his pained face.

"- Conan-kun" she whispered, "you're hurt, we need to get you to an hospital !

\- As long as Matsumoto is here... There's no way out... He'll just shoot us when we'll wait... for the elevator... We need to hope for help...

\- Matsumoto ? Is there an impostor again?!" Ran asked with surprise in her voice.

"- Nope, no impostor this time... he's the real one.

\- I just don't get it... He's a police Superintendent, why is he doing all this ?! _And how did you get yourself in all that again, Conan-kun ?"_

He looked at her face full of questions, wondering what lie he would be feeding her this time. Before he could try to answer, they heard the door opening and closing. The last part didn't bode well for them as people coming to help certainly wouldn't have closed the door.

"- Come on, Conan-kun, I know you and your nee-chan are here" Matsumoto's voice started with a soothing tone. "It's all a big misunderstanding, I thought I was chasing a criminal, you know I work for the good ones, don't you ? I won't harm you..."

Conan smirked involuntarily at the catalogue of blunders he was serving them with. But he had to save some time, until Takagi or another officer came to help. He got out of his hiding place, after a gesture of the hand to signify to Ran not to move. She obeyed at his serious look, even if he felt she didn't seem happy with it.

"- Really, Superintendent Matsumoto ?" he asked with a childish smile, holding his injured side, trying to ignore the throbbing pain .

"- Yes, my boy." The officer answered, pocketing his gun and coming near the small detective, with what was probably intended to be a comforting smile but was still a scary expression on his distorted face.

"- So why did you shoot me ?" the boy asked with bright wide eyes. "You saw I wasn't a criminal...

\- It was an accident, with all that smoke...

\- We know you're a part of the Organization" Conan cut, bored by the man's little act, stopping to pose himself as a little child. "... You followed me because you though I was the Kid and you wanted to kill him so he wouldn't spill your secrets... But more know the truth by now, your cover is busted, M. _ex_-Superintendent. "

The policeman looked at the boy with bewilderment.

"- No use to fool you, small detective, eh ? You remind me of someone..." He was keeping his smile but Conan could see his hands were shaking in anger as he understood his position as an infiltrated agent for the Organization was now really compromised. "No more lies then. Let's make a deal, boy. I promise I won't harm the both of you if you tell me where is that damn Thief."

_"The Organization sparing witnesses ? Don't make me laugh..."_ the bespectacled kid thought.

"- To be honest, he left a while ago ! " Conan declared with his most annoying childish smile.

"- I said "no more lies", it should also apply to you, brat. I've heard him less than 5 minutes ago.

\- Oh, that's thanks to this item", he said, taking out his bow. "I can use any voice I want with it" he added, with the Kid's tone.

"- Oh that's smart... So I lost two men and some precious minutes thanks to you, in fact ?" The officer's smile was getting more and more threatening.

"- Yep" the boy smirked of an insolent way, not unlike Kid's.

The smirk was brushed away by a sudden kick from the man, which Conan couldn't avoid as he wasn't expecting such a sudden attack, and sent him flying with a painful grunt at the bottom of the tiers.

"- Conan-kun !" Ran shouted, going out of her hiding spot and pushing the officer away to rush at the kid.

The small detective was lying on the floor, his glasses a few meters away, barely reacting to her voice as she crouched to him.

"- Ran..." he said, opening his eyes when she touched his bruised face. His eyes widened, at the sight of Matsumoto approaching and he warned " Watch out !"

Ran quickly got up and took a defensive stance as the officer's leg was thrown to where her head was a few instants before. She blocked it with a grunt and counter-attacked. After a few exchanges, Ran succeeded to place a hit at the man's formerly hurt shoulder, which made him take a few steps back.

"- Mouri Ran" he smiled, with a bit of admiration in his eyes. "I remember your father saying you weren't bad in karate. I must admit he was right, it's been a long time since I didn't fight a serious opponent... Unluckily for you, your karate is no match for the close combat's training I received..."

His rhythm accelerated and, as agile as she was, Ran couldn't keep up with the series of strong and quick hits he threw on her. She let out a painful moan at his last kick in her ribs, which sent her against the table for the conferences, hitting her back on it and falling on the floor, filled with too much in pain to be able to get up anymore.

The policeman slowly walked to her to give his finishing blow.

"- Don't touch her ! " Conan said, getting up to put himself between the girl and Matsumoto, hardly standing with his injuries.

"- Conan-kun..." She faintly tried to stop him as she heard his voice.

The boy gave her an encouraging smile and turned back to the officer who had his gun out once again and was now pointing it at him.

"_Still no help coming... What takes them so long ?"_ Conan was starting to despair.

Making up his mind, ready to try anything, he took a deep breath at the thought of what he was going to do but he had no other choice if he wanted to have a chance to save Ran.

"- You don't want to kill me. Spare her, I'll come with you.

"- And why would I be interested in taking a brat like you with me?" Matsumoto asked with an ironic smile.

"- Because I'm Kudô Shinichi."

Ran, as foggy as her mind was, still succeeded to look at Conan with bewilderment.

"- Don't make me laugh, brat, it's...

\- APTX 4869. The poison Sherry developed in your Organization. Gin used on me 6 months ago. It never worked, at least not the way you imagined."

After a moment of disbelief, looking intensively at the boy's face, the man finally laughed wholeheartedly.

"- Oh yes, it worked ! Beyond our expectations! You're right, brat, I need you. Consider your girlfriend as safe."

With a last look at Ran and a sad guilty smile at her astonished face, Conan let the officer catch him and hold him in his right arm. Once the boy was secured, the man's face split in an evil grin.

"- But if you've met us already, you should know by now..." The man said, lifting his gun to Ran's head. "That we don't leave any witnesses.

\- No! RAAAAAAAN ! "

* * *

Saguru exited from the building throught the front door, clenching his right arm, trying to ignore the pain.

"-Hakuba-kun ! " Aoko shouted when she spotted him.

A few heads turned at the cry and, seeing he was hurt, some men rushed to the teen.

"- What happened ? " One of them asked with a worried expression.

"- There were two other men on the first floor...

\- Saguru ! " His father quickly came to him, alerted by the cry, his face showing concern. " Are you alright ?

\- Nothing too harmful but I would need you to send a medical team to Kuroba-kun, he's near the elevators."

Aoko couldn't hold a gasp when she heard him.

"- Send some medics there, I want three men to protect them ! " the Superintendent general ordered. " Who is he ? What happened ?

\- He's an acquaintance of mine and also one of Conan's friends..." the blond-haired explained. "Apparently, he came looking for the boy as he heard there was a shootout and has been hurt... Takagi-keiji took him downstairs so we could treat him.

\- Just how did he come in... And where is Takagi-dôno now ?

\- He went to the last floor to retrieve Conan-kun and Ran-kun...

\- How many civilians do we have in this building... !" the old man swore. "Where is Shiratori-dôno ?

\- I'm here, Sir ! " he answered, now clothed for the intervention, " we are ready for the retrieval of Sato-keiji and Megure-keibu !

\- Then go, now ! Takagi-dôno is already up there. Please note we also have two civilians, a teenage girl and a boy, whose statuses are unknown. Secure them.

\- Yes, Sir ! Let's go, men !" he ordered, turning at the men on his heels.

The team rushed to the building, men with shields at the front, medics on the back.

"- Have that arm checked at in the hospital, son" the Superintendant advised Saguru, pointing the ambulances on the parking with a move of the head. "There's nothing else you can do right now.

\- I'll go with Kuroba-kun."

"- KAITO !" Saguru heard as he was sitting on the stairs, holding his arm against him.

He turned his head to the source of the shout, to see the Thief was lying on a stretcher, two men carrying him, a third talking in a radio with a worried look. The cry came from Aoko who, he saw it as he got up, was just near of them, her hand in front of her mouth, an horror-struck expression on her face.

"- How is he doing ?" he asked with concern, walking alongside them towards the ambulance. "I know him, I found him" he added, as he saw the men were reluctant to share some information.

"- He has two bullet wound... " one of them finally answered, "in each of his shoulders and also a hit on the head... First aid has been performed correctly but he needs a transfusion immediately and probably surgery, we'll know after additional examination to evaluate the wounds' seriousness.

\- He's B type, positive rhesus." The high-school detective pointed.

"- Thank you, that will help. You are also wounded ? " the man enquired, spotting the teen was holding his right arm and had a bruised face.

"- Yes, I think my arm is broken, I need to have it treated, I'll come with you.

\- Ok.

\- Let me come too" Aoko asked with a determined look

"- You know he won't be happy with it... " Saguru whispered with a reproving face. " You are endangering the protection he built for you...

\- I have to be there. "

Both of them stopped, staring into each others' eyes in a silent fight.

"- If you're willing to take that risk... But understand you're also putting him in danger" he gave up with a sight.

"- Are you coming ? " the stretcher bearer asked from the ambulance.

"- Hai ! " Aoko confirmed, going in the vehicle.

* * *

"- No! RAAAAAAAN ! "

The boy heard a gunshot and saw the girl's head fall down.

"- No…" Conan's body became limp as he gave up, with no more reason to fight.

"- Let him go !"

From afar, his mind blurred by an unbearable emotional pain, the small detective recognized Takagi's voice. But he was so late…

"- I said "let him go" or you'll get_another_ bullet, Matsumoto !

\- Getting quite confident, eh, Takagi-_kun_ ?" Conan still in his arms, the man turned to the young officer who was standing at the door, a fuming gun in his hands pointed at him.

"- There's no more escape, your men have been neutralized and the intervention team will be here at any moment… Give up !"

The boy came to his senses with a shiver when he felt the cold nose of Matsumoto's gun on his temple. With a glimpse at him, he also noticed the man's right hand, the one holding him, was bleeding.

"- And now? If you don't want to let me pass, I could still take one or two persons with me, you know…"

Takagi gulped at the scene, lowering a bit his gun, hesitant as to what to do. Ignoring his pain and the weapon, Conan desperately wriggled to escape the man's grip, trying to take advantage of his injured arm.

"- Stop moving damn brat ! " Matsumoto ordered, moving the weapon away from his head to hit him with its cross.

"- Shoot him !" He ordered to the cop with a pained grimace after that new hit, seeing the man's attention was focused in managing to hold him.

Without giving a second thought, Takagi raised once again his gun and pressed the trigger. The man fell on the floor with a loud thud, head shot.

"- Conan-kun ! " He called, as the former officer landed on the boy in his fall.

The policeman pushed the old man body to release Conan and saw with concern the child was covered with blood.

"- Where are you hurt ?

\- Never mind me ! Ran… She … " the detective's face was desperate as he got up to look at her from where he was, unable to go any closer.

Takagi crouched to the girl's body to check on her, looking for a pulse and external injuries.

_ "__How could I ever forgive myself if…"_ Conan was shaking in sadness, as white as a sheet.

"- Conan-kun, she's just fainted out" the policeman stated with a small smile. "Conan-kun ? Shinichi-kun !" He put his hand on the boy's shoulder so he would look at him. "She'll be ok !"

The kid blinked as he recognized the cop and processed the information he just gave him. His eyes watered with relief as he kneeled near Ran and patted her head with an affectionate smile.

"- You fought well…"

He collapsed near of her as the adrenaline, leaving his body, stopped to keep him awake.

"- Conan-kun !"


	15. RUM's Arc-Chap 15-Hard & soft awakenings

**Second chapter of the day : )**

**KaiAo and ShinRan in there ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

* * *

**Chap 15 : Hard and soft awakenings**

* * *

Kaito tried to open his eyes but got dazzled at the strong light and immediately closed them back. During the short glimpse he could have on his whereabouts, he didn't recognize anything. And, damn, he felt heavy. It was as if two big hands were grabbing both his shoulders, pinning him on the bed he was lying on.

Unknown place, unable to move, the Thief's senses went into alert and he started to worry, his heart accelerating widely before noticing the mixed smell of antiseptics and disinfectants, characteristic of…

_"__Great, an hospital"_ he concluded for himself with a sigh. _"__Just how did I get myself in there… Oh right, Matsumoto, that bastard..."_

He finished to completely awake when he remembered everything that happened in the MPD HQ, worrying on what damage he and his friend took because of those damn traitors. He gave another try and finally succeeded in keeping his eyes opened, though a bandage upon his right eye prevented him to open it completely. As he smelled, he was indeed in a hospital's room and what dazzled him before was just a night light at the ceiling. An IV was in his arm, probably feeding him with painkiller medication as he wasn't feeling any pain and, even if he was resistant to it, he knew he should have. He had a smile when he noticed an asleep girl, her arms and upper body lying near his legs on the bed as she sat on a chair. The face and hairs were different but he didn't doubt he was looking at his beloved.

"- That was so risky of you to come here, Ahouko..." he muttered, still half smiling, touched by her gesture even if he knew it was stupid and dangerous.

He turned his head to the door as he heard it opened, seeing Saguru coming in, a blanket in the arm. His face lightened as he saw Kaito's blue eyes were watching him and he came near him, putting the cloth he brought on Aoko's shoulders as he could, using only his left hand. The Thief noticed the detective's right arm was closely wrapped to his upper body thanks to a sling. The teen also seemed to have been beaten, with his bruises on the left cheek.

"- How are you doing ? " the blond-haired enquired with a low voice, not to awake the sleeping girl.

"- The drugs work nice apparently" Kaito whispered back. "How long have I been out ?

\- It's 10:31:42 a.m. so I'd say 10 or 11 hours.

\- No minutes and no seconds for the duration ?" the Thief taunted with a small smirk.

"- As you have probably already noticed, I've been distracted a few moments last night so I may have lost my usual precision to estimate time.

\- What happened to you ? And the others ?

\- I don't have any information about the others' statuses. I came directly here once they finished this... " Saguru pointed his right arm to the Thief with an annoyed face. "But I think some other are hurt, I noticed, when I fetched that cover for Aok… Kanako-san, that the doctors seemed quite busy...

\- And about that big sling ?

\- A memory from two agents who attacked Takagi and myself when I was coming back to the elevators and he was trying to bring you back to the entrance.

\- Sorry, I must have missed this part…

\- Yes, you were already knocked out. We neutralized them but my arm was broken, who would have thought a single kick would be necessary to break a bone...

\- Must have hurt…" Kaito pointed with a grimace.

"- Less than your injuries I guess…" The detective gave him a concerned look as he noticed the Thief was moving slowly his fingers on the bed, probably to check the damages' extend. "You've been transfused due to the blood loss but the doctor said the bullets just wen through some muscles so you shouldn't have any permanent after effect. Though you should get used to that bed, you're going to spend a few nights in there apparently.

\- Great… " the magician teen sighted with a dull voice.

"- What happened up there ? Conan-kun turned off his speaker when you said some men were coming to the video room so I wasn't able to listen anymore…

\- Yes, it turned a bit nasty for me too…"

The Kid related in a few words to his blond-haired friend what happened.

" - ... And that's why I'm worried about what happened to Tantei-kun", he concluded.

"- Ok, I will go and check on him and the others. Ah, and for your information, you're here as Kuroba Kaito, an acquaintance of Conan-kun and myself, wounded by accident during the heist."

The Thief sighted with relief, closing briefly his eyes.

"- So he did keep his word" he stated, looking at Saguru again. The detective gave him an interrogative look. "Our small friend gave his secret to that Takagi cop to protect mine, it seems it worked.

\- _Conan-kun_ can be really persuasive… I will be going, do you want me to call a doctor ?

\- Nah, I'll wait til Aoko wakes up, I bet she stayed up the whole night, worrying about the baka I am, she needs some rest."

The half-British detective nodded with a smile and quietly left the room.

* * *

"- Will you stop pretending to sleep ? Did you think you could fool a great magician like me ?"

Keeping her eyes closed, the girl smiled.

"- I didn't even move, how did you notice?

\- Your lips started twitching when Hakuba put that blanket on your shoulders, you always do that when you're about to wake up.

\- Busted" she agreed, opening her eyes and straightening up on her chair. "How stupid I was to try to fool the great Kaitou Kid !

\- Of course that was stupid" he smirked.

He tried to sit to have a better look at her but couldn't as his arms weren't able to support him yet.

"- Wait, I'll help you sit straight." She said, guessing what he was trying to do.

She pressed a button on the medical bed's remote control to bring the Thief in a sitting position.

"- Thanks, that's far better. So? Why the act ? You were afraid I wouldn't give you the truth ?" Kaito asked, staring at her, now that he was able to look at her properly in the eyes.

"- Yes" she confessed, a bit guilty.

"- I promised, you know, I won't come back on my word, Aoko. But it seems it's harder for you to keep yours…" he scolded with a hard look."Didn't I ask you not to put yourself in danger ? And to do your best to stay away from me, especially when I'm playing you-know-who ?

\- I had to, I just couldn't stand… " she started to cry softly. "Kaito, being away from you those last days was… And when I got to see you again, it was in that stretcher... It's too hard !

\- It's the only way I could find, Aoko" the teen tried to calm her with a soothing tone, a bit helpless, as he couldn't even grab her hand in his to comfort her, let alone perform a magic trick to distract her.

"- Then it's not the good one !" she argued. The girl came closer to the Thief, gently putting her fingers on the bandage around his head with a sad look. "I.." Her eyes met his and she lost herself in their azure, coming even closer, until their lips touched.

Kaito, surprised, didn't gave her back her kiss at the beginning but decided quickly to forget all those "and if", closing his eyes to enjoy that perfect moment with a jolt in his stomach, a bit frustrated not being able to hug her. They parted after a while, a bit too quickly for each other's taste but they both needed to breath.

"- Look at what you make me do" she ironically complained, blushing furiously, half smiling half crying, wiping the tears on her face.

"- I can't really say I'm sorry if that's the punishment..." he shyly pointed out with a smirk.

"-Baikaito... " The girl said, bending once again to the Kid to experiment another close face-to-face with him.

"- Ahem." Someone coughed nearby.

The blushing teens jumped aside each other and turned their heads to the door, at the same speed.

"- When I heard from Aoko-chan my son was badly hurt, I jumped into my car, forgetting all security measures, almost killed myself on the way... But it looks like he's more than fine and found himself a considerate nurse..." Chikage winked at them.

"- Kaa-san, don't you see you're interrupting something ? " Kaito grumbled with a flat glare at his disguised mother. "And what with the blond hair ? Doesn't that colour stand out ?

\- That's because it stands out that it is a good idea. People won't remember the face, just the hair." she snapped back, brushing the blond wig she had on her head with her hand." Hello, Aoko-chan !" she said, turning to the female teenager. The woman frowned when she noticed the girl's disguise was slightly damaged by the salty water of her tears. "Oh, what happened, have you been crying ?

\- It's nothing, Chikage-san" the female teen answered, shaking her head.

"- A girl crying isn't "nothing", Aoko-chan. Has my Kaito done anything to you that you didn't ask for ?" She added with a threatening look at her son.

"- Don't look at me like that, I can't even move my arms ! " the Thief complained.

"- Yes, he got himself hurt" the brown haired teen stated, using the same threatening look on him than his mother.

"- Hey, two against one is unfair !" the Kid pointed with an over acted outraged face.

The girls stared at him and looked at each other, giggling at the Thief.

"- Ahah, thanks, Chikage-san, I feel better

\- Anytime" the woman smiled warmly.

"- In case anyone is interested_, I_ don't feel any better" Kaito pouted.

"- Reminds me I was supposed to fetch that doctor" Aoko remembered, getting on her feet. "I'll be right back !"

"- Well done, boy "Chikage winked at her child once the girl went out. "Just try next time not to get shot to get a kiss from your beloved.

\- ... Noted"

* * *

"- Because you lost some blood, we'll keep you today in observation but you'll be able to leave tonight, okay, Conan-kun ? You'll come back in 2 weeks to remove the stitches.

\- Haaaai" the boy dully answered, following with his eyes the doctor and the nurse going out of his room.

"- You're lucky that wound was just impressive and not that serious" Takagi pointed, looking at the boy sitting on the hospital bed as he was putting back his shirt with a painful grimace when he accidently touched the big bandage around his ribs.

"- And lucky it just grazed the artery, else I was up again for another week of vacation at the hospital" the young detective sighted, thinking he lately ended there a bit too much to suit his own taste.

"- So, we can say we're all safe now, right ? " The officer enquired. "Will I get my explanation ?"

Conan gave a side look to the bed near his, where Ran was still sleeping, curled under her blanket. The doctor confirmed she was just fainted out and her body was only getting some hours of sleep to recover from the physical and - he guessed it - psychological shocks. She would have a few bruises but it was more or less what she could get after a Karate tournament, she'd seen worse. Seeing the girl wouldn't wake up soon, the boy turned his head back to the policeman with a serious look.

"- As I promised, here is what I can tell you..."

* * *

"- A shrunken detective trying to destroy a secret organization and a teen looking for his father's killers ? Helped by two other high-school detectives, descending from the higher graded police officers of the country ? Wow. I'm sorry but it sounds a bit like science-fiction to me..." Takagi was looking at the boy, still a bit expecting someone would jump out of nowhere, shouting "it's a joke !".

"- Well, you can ask Hattori, he'll be able to testify of my changes. The other proof is, as you noticed beforehand, my brains." Conan added, pointing at his head. "I could also tell you once again in details that case we solved on the highway in front of you when I was Shinichi but well...

\- Nah, it's ok, I think I just need time to process the information. After seeing a 7 year old child defuse a bomb and saving a whole high school, I couldn't expect any ordinary explanation... Still, to know Kogoro Mouri's just a ... facade hurts a bit.

\- Please don't spread it out... I'm sorry I had to build this trick, I couldn't think of anything else..."the small detective shook his head, feeling a bit uneasy. "I had to find a way to solve those cases, I couldn't stand the idea of criminals escaping... And, about Kid, will you... ?"

Takagi sighted at the child's interrogative face.

"- I think I'll consider him as a special informer... and will try to avoid any case concerning him, directly or indirectly. But that's as long as he brings back the loots, ok ?

\- Thank you. For him.

\- And I'll also keep your secret, if it is what you wish" he added, looking into the boy's eyes. "But I can only advise you to share it with more people, especially the ones who care about you enough to jump into a building full of murderers."

A bit shameful, Conan nodded, perfectly aware of who Takagi was talking about.

"- About that, what happened since I passed out ?

\- Not much... The rescue team arrived a few moments after to secure the prisoners and help our injured.

\- How is everyone ?" the small detective asked with concern, thinking in particular about Sato and Kaito.

"- A few scratches for some, more serious wounds for the others. Hakuba-kun has a broken arm, K..Kuroba-kun, well, you saw his injuries... But he's out of danger and I heard nothing important was damaged. Megure-keibu will have to take a few weeks rest for his leg but that's all. Miwako... Sato-san" Takagi sighted, his eyes saddening at the thought, "has been badly wounded. The bullet has been removed but she lost a lot of blood while waiting for the medics. We'll have to wait a few hours before declaring her safe...

\- She's strong, Takagi-keiji. She's already pulled through more dangerous situations.

\- Yes... All that because of her stupid habit to jump to protect someone without a second thought, "the policeman said with a small smile." Even if she saved me, I'll have to scold her about that, she should value her own life more...

\- Indeed... You said there were prisoners ? Did you get anything out of them ?

\- We caught only three... Apart from the ones we killed, some took a kind of poison they had in their mouths before we could stop them.

\- Yes, they often do so when they are cornered. Apparently less afraid to die than to be caught." the boy regretted, shaking his head. "Let's not forget the Organization often pressures the families...

\- That's some scary methods they have..." the cop pointed out with a chill. "Well, we checked on the unconscious ones to remove the poison caps and interrogated them once they were awake. They were a bit shy at the beginning but, after one night with us, with my colleagues quite angry at the fact they hurt Sato-san, they decided to be more talkative and started to spill everything out : the fact Matsumoto was their chief, which has been supported by the recordings we did last night and our testimonies, who were the other infiltrated agents in MPD and Osaka's police... By the way, the Superintendent General Hattori arrested the ones in Osaka.

\- Good to hear. Now that the police is clean, I plan to give the members' list to Hattori's and Hakuba's fathers for a bit of extra cleaning in the Organization.

\- The one you found on the chip ?

\- Exactly... Oh, hey, Hattori !" the boy greeted when he spot the Osakan entering the room, using some crutches to move around.

"- Hey, Ku.. Conan-kun ! " Heiji answered to his greeting, suddenly changing the way he was going to call the child when he noticed Takagi. "An' hi, Takagi-keiji.

\- When will you learn my name as a first grader ?" the small detective asked with a flat look. The teen froze, struck by surprise, at the words the dark haired child just said when the inspector was in the room. " Haha, your face is priceless !" Conan started giggling but stopped quickly as his ribs reminded him he was hurt. "He's in, no worries.

\- WHAT ?

-Will you try to keep it quiet, Ran is still sleeping" Conan hushed the dark-skinned teen, with a move of the head towards the girl's bed.

"- Oh, sorry...

\- As you seem to have a lot to say to each other, I'll be leaving you in your _nii-chan's_ hands, _Conan-kun_" The policeman smirked at him. "I'm going to check on Miwako. See you laters.

\- Laters !"

* * *

"- He's in? " The Osakan wondered once the cop was out. "Anythin' ta do with the fact ya tried... ta stop bullets with yer rib cage ?

\- Look who is talking" the boy smirked at him. "What with the crutches ? Aren't you supposed to be in bed? You still seem short-breathed...

\- Oh it's ok, I'm allowed out o' bed now... in a wheelchair" he shamefully added with a chill at the idea.

"- I can't really picture you in a wheelchair...

\- Neither do I. So I grabbed som' crutches.

\- Well, at least, sit down, instead of standing like that."

Carefully, the teen sat on a chair near the bed and looked with concerned eyes at his friend's shirt, still tainted with blood, though it was pretty dry now.

"- It's ok, just a scratch" the boy declared when he saw his friend's worried look. "No lies there, I'm getting out tonight. And you ? How long to go ?

\- Three days left, hopefully ! So, what happen'd ? I heard ya ended here... because I bumped inta Shiratori-keibu downstairs but I have... no idea o' the outcome o' the heist. Though it does... look like it didn' go as plann'd..." He stated, a raised brow at the bruises on the small detective's face.

"- Yea, long story..."

* * *

"- Wait? Nee-chan knows?!

\- Lower I said. I had no choice, I had to find a way for her to be spared but..." The boy lowered sadly his head, looking at his feet.

"- But now ya'll have ta face the consequences... " Heiji concluded with a fatalistic sigh." Ya spoke ta her about that ?

\- Nah she's been sleeping since she came here..."

"- Hattori-kun !" they heard someone roar in the hallway.

"- Oh crap" the Osakan rolled his eyes in annoyance and a slight shadow of fear appeared on his face.

"- What was that ?" Conan wondered, seeing his friend's reaction

"- The nurse... the one lookin' after me... Sorry but I should get goin'... Bring me later the list, I'll pass it ta my father... Laters, Kudô !

\- Laters, Hattori."

"- Here you are ! What's with the crutches ? It's bed or wheelchair, you choose !"

Conan smiled as he heard the nurse scolding the teen behind the closed door. She seemed to have some character but that was exactly what his best friend needed to stay calm and get some rest...

"- Yes, ma'am..." Heiji answered from afar.

* * *

Now that he was alone, the boy tried to move a bit, to gauge how his wound would bother him in his moves. His head turned to Ran when he heard her turn in her bed with a small moan. Carefully going down his own bed, he came near her to check if she was awake.

The girl's head was facing his side and he could see she wasn't completely peaceful. Even in her sleep, her frowned brows clearly showed she was dwelling on what happened, even in her subconscious. With a gentle expression, Conan pushed back behind her ear a strand of brown hair that was falling on her tired face.

"- Ran, are you alright ?" he enquired, when he saw her eyes were open at his touch.

"- Conan-kun ? What happened ?

\- You were attacked while defending me in the MPD HQ, do you remember ?"

Closing her eyes, she let the memories of her last awoken moments flow into her. Matsumoto. Conan beaten, hurt. And...

Suddenly opening her eyes again, she looked in Conan's azure ones and pulled herself together to ask the boy the question that just popped into her mind as she recalled of everything.

"- Are you Shinichi ?"

The small detective sighted but didn't break their eyes' contact.

"- ... Yes."

Ran's eyes turned watery as she looked at the child with both bewilderment and sadness.

"- Please leave me alone. At least for now " she asked him, curling back under her blanket.

"- Sure..."

He came back to his bed, feeling heavy and his heart definitively broke when he heard the girl he loved starting to cry at the truth.


	16. Ship's Arc - Chapter 16 - Departure

**Hi there ! **

**So today, let's start the 3rd Arc, out of four !**

**This one is a bit... let's say filler-like as there will be only Conan and Heiji. It's mystery oriented and ****I'll focus on SR and KH but some parts will be needed to understand the fourth final arc, so please hang in there, even if there isn't Saguru or Kaito, they'll be back to rock after ; )**

**Should be 3-4 chapters long.**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Nope, no mike on Matsumoto, sorry ^^; The guy was clearly overpowering Kaito, with 12 men against one so he wouldn't need such a thing... And he's supposed to be the BO's number 2 so he wouldn't need to be spied on... Well, more to come : ) **

**SilverSapphire34523 : Yea, this chapter was a bit hard for Shinichi but... I couldn't picture Ran not being sad after she heard the truth, with everything he hid to her :O**

**guest : Every Wednesdays, no more, no less ! ; )**

**Guest : Nah, the building was kinda empty and, as I explained, there wasn't any mike on Matsumoto so Conan will just have to deal with Ran knowing the truth. Which will be already hard enough I guess xD**

* * *

**Arc 3 : Ship case - Chapter 16 : Departure**

* * *

Two weeks later, on a Saturday evening, Conan was sitting into Agasa's living room, in front of the TV but not watching it, lost in his thoughts with a sad face.

The previous fights were already forgotten : his stitches just had been removed and, to Takagi's greatest relief, Sato-keiji was slowly getting better, now out of danger. Thanks to the list he gave the police, the BO was seriously diminished : though no higher ups had been caught yet, a lot of their hideouts had been dismantled and many men arrested.

Thanks to those police's busts, Heiji and Hakuba decided to come back home : with the mayhem actually in the BO, they wouldn't be important witnesses enough to be hunted down. For Kaito, it was a different matter, as he still would be a precious asset so they decided it was better for him to stay hidden. The only arrangement the Thief allowed himself once he was released from the hospital, was to live with Aoko and his mother, under a teen disguise as well, as he didn't want - and Aoko neither - to be separated any more.

_"At least, the truth worked for them..."_ Conan thought, slightly jealous.

On his side, he was pretty much here, at Hakase's, every evenings and weekends since he came back from the hospital as he couldn't stand the tension back at Kogoro's apartment. It hurt him too much to have Ran doing her best to ignore him, limiting their exchanges to the minimum and locking herself in her room or in Sonoko's house as soon as her chores were over.

Kogoro was feeling something was wrong but, of course, none of them told him the true reason behind this conflict, changing the subject every time the question was asked. Ran's father had already seen her snapping at everyone after she quarrelled with Shinichi but even _he_ could spot the anger was directed at Conan and he couldn't explain why at all.

The small detective could tell Ran's feelings were mixed, as he caught her eyes on him a few times as she observed him during the meals, thinking he didn't notice. He saw almost each time a different look : sad, accusative, hurt, sometimes even she blushed. But when he tried to talk to her, she fled, finding herself something more important to do than to hear to what he had to say. After a week trying, he stopped, not willing to harm her anymore, waiting for her to come to him, when she'll be ready.

Apparently, he was still hurting her somehow in his silence as he got the previous days a few angry voice messages from Sonoko on his "Shinichi" phone, asking him what's he'd done to _"her"_ Ran and threatening him to send some of her family's bodyguards to hunt him and hit him if he continued hurting her like that. She didn't seem to know though what the origin of her best friend's distress was.

The day before, Ran left to Osaka alone and was planning to spend the next days there, as Kazuha invited her for the Golden Week to change her mind, also aware of the girl's heavy heart as they had spent long hours at the phone during the previous two weeks. Ran of course didn't propose to Conan to come, at the Osakan girl's surprise, as they usually were inseparable, but she didn't dare to ask why.

As to Conan, even at Hakase's house, it hadn't be easy at the beginning, being scolded by Ai all day long for telling Kogoro's daughter about his_problem_. Even if he didn't tell her about "Shiho", the scientist had had very harsh words to signify her disagreement. After a few days, she gave up, what had been done couldn't be undone...

The boy had a long sigh, getting concerned looks from Agasa and Ai, who were both the witnesses of how hard it hit the young detective not to be able to explain himself and to be avoided by the girl he loved. They had tried to distract him but, even knowing the antidote would be ready next week didn't enlighten his dark mood. So the professor tried another approach.

"- Hey, Shin-chan ! Oh, that's quite a the long face !" Conan heard as Hakase opened the door to his mother.

"- Hello, son" his father greeted as he also came in.

" - Hi..." The child gave Agasa a dull look, guessing the man told his parents about his actual situation. The old man answered with an innocent smile, taking refuge with Ai in her lab after a wave of the hand.

Yukiko came to the couch and gave her son a big hug, getting a dark glare from him as he didn't like to be treated as a 7 years old, even if he looked like one.

"- Let me go, Kaa-san..." the boy asked, wriggling to escape the motherly embrace.

"- Nope, you need it !"

"- What did Hakase told you... ?" Conan enquired, rolling his eyes.

"- That you were sulking at his home every day and I can see only one reason for you to act like that..." his father winked at him.

"- That's MY problem...

-... So we came to cheer you up ! " Her mother claimed, ignoring his comment but letting him go.

"- I don't think anything can cheer me up at the moment, sorry..." The boy sighted once again.

"- Ahh don't be so gloomy before you know why we came here" Yûsaku gently scolded his son as he was also coming near the couch.

"- I wanted to call our plan "How to get back Ran-chan and turn you as lovebirds again" but Yûsaku didn't agree..." she gave her husband a theatrical disappointed look

"- Now, I'm afraid" Conan pointed with a flat glare at them.

"- Don't listen to her, she's joking. We wanted to invite you, and everyone you'd like to bring, to come with us during the small vacation we'll be having the Golden Week" His father explained.

"- Which is ?

\- Four days on a luxury cruise liner ! " Yukiko couldn't refrain her excitement, speaking quickly. " All the people who participated to the Macademy Awards are invited and since you father got a price for his script "the scarlet agent", he and the movie's crew will be guests of honour ! They'll also be showing it aboard !

\- And since I'm a special guest, I can bring as much people as I want. So we thought it could interest you.

\- And that the fact we'll be stuck on a ship in the middle of nowhere would allow you to chat with Ran-chan..." Shinichi's mother added with a wink

"- You're both joking, right ?! " Conan exploded. " Participating such a public event, when the Organization knows Kudô Shinichi is alive ?! As my parents, you could be targets... And bringing more of my friends, above all, Ran, to what could be another shootout ?! I can't believe you thought I'd do something so irresponsible... Back there, she was so close to... " His voice broke and he had a chill when he remembered RUM pointing a gun at Ran.

"- Shinichi-kun, you can't live in Their fear your whole life, " his father stated, suddenly serious, looking in his eyes ."Indeed, there might be a slight risk and that's why we asked Okiya-san to come with us. We'll also be confirming our presence on the boat at the last moment so They won't have enough time to find a way aboard, as you have to be personally invited. With those precautions, I think the ship will be safer than any place.

\- And come on, those are you last days as "Conan", right ? Let me enjoy a bit more my child as a first grader, it helps me feel so young !" Her mother asked with a begging smile.

"- Baka... " the small detective shook his head. "I won't be going..."

Yukiko's smile disappeared as she turned to her son with a threatening glare.

"- Oh, you will. "

* * *

"- So ya thought if ya invited me then Kazuha would come and Nee-chan would follow ?" Heiji concluded while sitting on his bed with his phone in the hand." Am I invited just so ya can settle things with yar girl ? Ya sure remember what I told ya happened in the hospital with Kazuha... Are ya aware I'll also be busted if I'm stuck on that ship fer almost a week with her ? She'll be naggin' me 'til I give her an answer...

\- Come on, get over it, we both know you love her." the boy had a small smirk on the other side of the line.

"- I don'... I... argh !" the Osakan blushed furiously. " Stop tryin' ta change the subject, the couple with problems is yours !

\- Yes..." Conan sighted, suddenly serious. " That's why.

\- ... I got it, pal." Heiji answered, moved by the distress he was hearing in his friend's voice." I don' like ta hear ya like ya've been the last two weeks, if I can do anythin' ta help, count on me. When did ya say that ship'll leavin' ?

\- Tomorrow, 4 P.M, Tokyo's harbour.

\- Meet ya at the quay then. The 3 o' us."

"- Happy ?" He asked her mother, putting his phone back into his pocket.

"- That's the first step" she smiled at him.

* * *

Cap on the head and gym bag on the shoulder, Heiji sighted when he looked up to check the gigantic multi-decked ship he was facing. It looked like a small building, a floating one, but still a building, with his many floors and windows. The glass of the portholes and the white hull, reflecting May's sun, were dazzling to the detective's eyes.

"- Damn, it's so high, I hope I won't go over that one ...

\- Didn't you learn how to swim since ? " A childish voice taunted from behind.

"- As long as no one hits my head, I'm fine." he smiled, looking down at Conan.

"- Cool, we'll be able to go to the swimming pool on the first deck !

\- Nah, the doc' forbade me... I've ta do my best ta avoid long baths an' getting cold fer my lungs he said...

\- Safe then, baka don't catch cold you know...

\- Oh, so ya should also be immune, when I see how ya act with Nee-chan..."

The boy gave a side look to Kazuha and Ran who were lively chatting a dozen meters apart.

"- So how did you convince them ?

\- I told Kazuha there'll be a lot o' hot actresses. My ears still sting a bit but that was efficient, she begged me ta come." the Osakan smile widened as he remembered that moment. " An' as planned, she succeeded ta convince Nee-chan in our stead.

\- You told them I would be here ?

\- Since the begginin', as I didn' want her ta feel fooled, that would hav' only gotten things worse...

\- So you do have some sensibility towards the others..." Conan pointed with a malicious look.

"- An' I'm also sensible myself, I need ta hear when someone is satisfied o' my work...

\- Sorry, I forgot. Thank you, _Heiji-niisama_...

\- Better ! I think I could get used ta it..." Hattori concluded, laughing as he was ruffling the boy's hair.

"- Ahh, stop it, I'll look like that damn Thief's little brother with my hair messed like that..." Conan complained, trying to tidy back his hairs.

"- By the way, ya didn' want ta invite him ? An' Hakuba ?

\- I thought about it but... " the small detective turned his head around, checking they were out of reach of any unwanted ears " they both need rest, above all if the four of us are going to try something against the higher ranked of the Organization next week...

\- The cure'll be ready ? "

The boy nodded. " And I plan to take it.

\- CONAN-KUUN !" Yukiko called from the bottom of the embarkation ramp. "Gather everyone, we'll be boarding soon !

\- Haai !"

* * *

"- Come, let's sit here ! " Kazuha said, pointing at some free seats.

After one quick passage to their rooms to change into some proper clothing for the ceremony to come, the four of them were now in the boat's theatre, with all the others passengers, for the trip's introduction gala. The whole room was shaped like one of those old Italian opera's, with red carpets everywhere, fake gold decorations and VIP's balconies.

Conan, who was looking up at the scenery, didn't notice Ran stopped when Kazuha did and bumped into her.

"- Gomen, Ran-neechan" He said, looking at his feet as he wasn't able to look straight at her.

\- You're full of "gomen" nowadays..." she stated with a sad face, not really looking at him either, before taking a seat.

The boy clenched his jaw and sat near Heiji, trying not to look too depressed. The Osakan didn't look too happy either, apparently not enjoying the fact he was stuck in a tux and would have to stay and listen to something that didn't interest him.

"- Hope there'll be some entertainment" he whispered to the kid.

"- Hope is life..."

After a few more minutes, the lights went off and a presenter entered the scene, mike in the hand.

"- Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for being here tonight and the incoming four days to celebrate with us the winners of the Macademy awards ! Please give a warm welcome to our laureates ! "

The winners entered one by one, the man presenting them one after the other. Conan had a proud smile when he heard the strong clapping for his father, mostly due to the movie's cast presence and its enthusiasm.

"And I'd like to introduce to you our guest of honour for tonight, who will dazzle us by her charm tonight and during the trip, a beautiful actress you surely all know, Chris Vineyard !"

"- What the f***?!" Heiji spurted, luckily unheard of most because of the applause, as he and Conan jumped into their seats with surprise.

They looked at each other, startled.

"- Damn, this woman has some nerves" the dark-skinned teen whispered with an impressed tone.

"- "No safer place", eh ?" the small detective grumbled, half to himself."Wait until we speak about that, Tou-san...

\- Anythin' we could do about her ?" The Osakan wondered with a low voice.

"- Honestly speaking ? Nothing. We can't do anything against her... Let's just be extra cautious of her and any of her staff, it could be a BO's member in disguise... I'll warn Okiya.

\- Roger."

* * *

After what seemed ages to them, the introduction ended at last and they were freed to have a dinner in the ship's panoramic restaurant on the top. Before sitting, the two detectives spotted Vermouth in the room. Apart for the fans, they agreed it looked like only one person was with her : a young dark-skinned and dark haired man, with green eyes and a heavy foreign accent. They discreetly warned the FBI agent on those two and they all joined the table they belonged to, with the film's crew.

"- So let me introduce to you my co-workers on this project," Shinichi's father started to the four teens and Okiya. "Here is Takamoto Ichiro-san, our producer," he pointed a round black-haired man with glasses." Saki Yûko and Mora Naoko-nee-san, our beautiful female co-stars " two girls in their twenties nodded at them, one was a thin and tall dark-haired with green eyes, probably playing the hero's sister and the other was more sensual, with sparkling brown eyes and her blond hair cascading on her shoulder, without a doubt the "girlfriend" role."Our star, the scarlet agent, Ikeda Ryo-san " he continued, winking discreetly at Okiya as he pointed a dark haired green eyed man in his early thirties who gave the girls a charming smile, which got him the teens' black glares. "And here are Okiya Subaru-san, a friend of the family, Edogawa Conan-kun, a distant relative of my wife and some of his friends, Mouri Ran-san, Tôyama Kazuha-san and Hattori Heiji-kun."

They all sat down after those introductions and raised their glass to once again congratulate the laureate.

A few glasses later, stating Conan was bored was quite the euphemism. He was sitting between his mother and Heiji, glaring either at a drunk Yukiko who was obviously flirting with Okiya, often repeating he was wasted on his actual job or at the Osakan who was quarrelling loudly with Kazuha who was on the chair next to him. His father, annoyed by his wife's flirting, was enthusiastically chatting with the two actresses and got a few malicious looks. Ran was on her other side, looking as bored as the boy as the "scarlet agent" tried to charm her but finally gave up to chat with the producer. The child and the girl had a few eye contacts during the meal but neither of them was brave enough to look at each other.

When the dinner was over, Conan gave a huge sigh of relief and got up, giving an insistent look at his neighbour.

"- I think we'll be goin' back to our cabin" Heiji declared, when he saw the boy's face.

"- Oh, ya didn' want ta hang around ? There's so much ta see ! " Kazuha was a bit disappointed.

"- We hav' almost a week here, let's keep some fer the other days... An' Conan-kun looks tired" The male Osakan pointed.

"- So, want to go with us to the nightclub, girls ? " The actress named Mora asked.

"- It's my first one on a ship..." The other actress, Saki added. " And it's not that late" she pointed, after a look at her golden wrist watch.

"- I'll pass for tonight, I'm sorry, I'm tired" Ran excused herself, not really in the mood.

She gave an interrogative look at Kazuha.

"- Nah, I'll also be reasonable then. Good night everyone !"

The four of them walked back to their cabins, crossing a good part of the cruiser liner. The place was quite oversized as they were around a hundred passengers when it could welcome one thousand so it was a bit feeling like a ghost ship.

Heiji pointed it out loud and got a glare from the two women who got closer to each other, as to protect themselves from imaginary evil spirits.

"- Ok, we're here. Sleep tight, girls ! " the dark-skinned detective wished as they reached their cabins.

"- We would hav' slept better if ya didn' speak about ghosts... " Kazuha complained, not totally reassured.

"- Come on, grow up a bit" He asked with a bored look. "There're no ghosts here... Our cabin is just in front o' yers, feel free ta knock if ya're afraid, ok ?"

She looked at him, hope in her eyes.

"- ONLY if ya're afraid" he felt the need to specify. " 'Night."

* * *

After a few hours chatting in the living room about some recent cases, the boys decided to go to bed. The room was quite spacious, with two single beds, one on each wall. Each settled in one and Heiji switched off the light.

"-Ne, Hattori, what should I do ?" Conan started, after a few moments, his arm crossed under his head, his sad eyes towards the ceiling. "I don't think I'll be able to last any longer with this kind of relationship...

\- Ya know , since that time ya changed back into Shinichi after ya took a bullet, I told ya my mind about that, dude... I respected yer decision but I still think today it would hav' been better ta tell her back then... Instead, ya put up another lie, on a list already too long. No wonder she's angry now.

\- Haibara pressured me to shut up you know ... Even if it was a toy gun.

\- Don' go an' find excuses. We both know ya wanted ta keep Nee-chan safe an' not telling her the truth was the way ya chose ta take. An' look at the result : she jumped into that damn building two weeks ago fer ya, even when she knew the risks an' she didn' even imagine who ya were. She is the kind ta do dangerous things fer the ones she cares about, ya won' stop her doin' that.

\- Reminds me of someone...

\- Yea, an' I scolded ya about the fact ya keep too many secrets... That's our choice, the ones we chose ta protect. But absolute trust an' truth are parts o' the price. Give her some time... An' don' give up.

\- It's so hard to be rejected each time...

\- Didn' she also suffer because o' ya the last six months ? Didn' ya say she cried all night at the beginnin' 'cause she was worried ? Clench yer teeth an' wait fer her.

\- You know, sometimes you speak sense for a single..." Conan taunted his best friend. " You're still single, right ? Kazuha and you don't look at a couple at all... Did you speak to her since the hospital ?

\- I tried ta avoid her most o' time... But the "I need rest" excuse can' work any longer as I pretty much recovered. If it was winter, I could stay home an' say I don' want ta catch a cold as the doc said it was risky but in May...

\- Oh, that's very mature from you, pal... She's not dumb, you know ?

\- O' course she isn't. But I want ta wait fer the right time... An' it's a bit hard, ya know... Our relationship at the moment is comfortable. Bein' a couple seems so complicated... We'll fight fer anything...

\- Oh, because what you both do nowadays isn't a fight ?

\- Tsk, ya know what I mean.

\- Yea, but taunting you is fun.

\- Happy ta entertain ya, _boy_..."

* * *

**NOTE : Golden Week : Four days of National Japanese holiday out of seven, in May. Most Japanese don't work the ****whole week.**


	17. Ship's Arc - Chapter 17 - Starry skies

**Hey !**

**So here we are once again... :p**

**A few words to introduce this chapter : **

**ShinRan ! And beginning of a new case. And a bit of mystery in the end ; )**

**So it's a busy one xD**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**SPECIAL ANNOUCMENT : I finished writing this fic quite a while ago but I needed a lot of time to edit it and translate it. **

**I am, at last, working on the last chapters so, starting now, I'll be updating twice a week, ****Wednesdays and Sundays. **

**Hope you'll enjoy : )**

**o.O.o**

**Shinshinjane :****Yea, more coming ! : ) **

**SilverSapphire34523 : As I said, this arc is a bit filler-like : she's here but she won't be our friends' main worry ; )**

**Great : Yes, I wanted her a bit unfair but, in the last chapter,****I also tried to describe her hesitation : behind all this angriness she has towards him, I gave a few hints she was also secretly happy to know Shinichi is by her side... But that's right, I also think the "conan" situation isn't easy and hurts both. But I bet the day she understands he suffered as much as she did, she'll be able to forgive him : ) As to Vermouth, well, same answer than to Silver... She'll have her role but later ; )**

* * *

**Chapter 17 : Starry skies...**

* * *

The following morning was the diffusion of "the Scarlet agent" to all the guests, event that our friends couldn't miss so they got up early to have a good seat in the theatre. They also fetched Shinichi's mother who was overjoyed with watching the film again.

Conan sat between Heiji and his mother, giving her a reproving look as she seemed to be still light headed of the alcohol she drank the previous night.

"- So, what was yesterday evening about ? " the boy scolded her with a low voice to be sure no one could hear him.

"- What are you talking about ?

\- Weren't you trying to annoy Tou-san with all your flirting with Okiya-san ? And since when do you drink that much ?

\- Well your father was too busy chatting with his young female cast, I had to find a way to entertain myself", she sulked with a childish face.

"- You started picking up on Okiya-san before he even looked at them...

\- What, you're on his side ?!" Yukiko gave him an outraged look.

"- Don't be silly," Conan denied with a bored sigh. "I'm on no one's side, it's just... embarrassing to see both of you act like two teenage jerks at each other.

\- It's none of y...

\- Oh, don't give me the "not your business" thingy, do I have to remind you why I'm on this ship in the first place ? Just go talk to him and settle this like the adults you're supposed to be..."

His mother blushed, a bit embarrassed to be scolded by her own child, above all when he looked like a first grader but she nodded. She looked with soft eyes to her husband, who was on the scene, all dressed up, introducing the movie with the crew. After a moment, the film started.

* * *

"- Ahah" Heiji laughed during the credits, bending to Conan. " I thought yer father had some imagination but this guy... It's Akai-san ! _Scarlet _agent, I got it" he snorted.

"- I'll ask the one in question what he thinks about it, yes" the small detective smiled, as he spotted the agent in the first ranks. "Well, even if the hero is a bit _cliché_, the plot is really interesting.

\- Yea, didn' see the end comin'.

\- Oh, I thought it was quite obvious...

\- Show off..." the Osakan nudged the boy.

* * *

"- It was good !" Kazuha concluded once the four of them were out of the theatre.

"- Yes, Shinichi's ..." Ran gave a side look at Conan. " ... father has always been an excellent novel writer, it's fun to see his work on a screen" she finished, smiling at her Osakan friend.

"- And the cast was impressive, though I'd have like ta see more the "little sister", Saki-san's act was perfect but she didn't had many scenes.

\- Bah, on the contrary, we got ta see a lot the "girlfriend", I won' complain." the West detective stated with a silly smile.

"- O' course, ya won', she was half naked all the time..." Kazuha pointed with a dull look at Heiji.

"- So was the main actor an' I bet it didn' annoy ya !" He snapped back.

"- Mah, Mora-san and Ikeda-san are also good actors..." Ran tried to calm them down, raising her hands.

As they completely ignored her, she rolled her eyes and gave a smile of complicity at Conan, both knowing what each other thought about those two quarrelling. The boy smiled back at her, a bit surprised to see her act as usual but that moment ended shortly, as she remembered who he was and turned her head, slightly blushing.

* * *

They spent the afternoon exploring the ship and testing the swimming pool, except for Heiji who had to stay out but all of them turned quite tired for the dinner that night. When they arrived at their table, Conan was pleased to see his parents sitting in front of each other, exchanging gentle looks as they were holding each other's hand.

"- About time..." he whispered his mother when he passed her to sit down.

"- Now, your turn" she pointed.

This time, the dinner's table was less crowded as there wasn't any compulsory time given so the teens ate only with the Kudôs. Even if the adults were now back in good terms, the atmosphere was still a bit heavy, as Ran and Conan were clearly avoiding looking at and speaking to each other.

"- Want to go for a walk on the top deck before tonight's event ?" Yukiko proposed to everyone.

"- I have to go there beforehand so I won't be able to come with you" Yûsaku excused himself.

"- Sounds like a good idea, I need some fresh air" Kazuha agreed, feeling oppressed by the atmosphere without being able to pinpoint where the problem between Ran and Conan was coming from.

"- Yea, it'll help digestin' " Heiji added. " Conan-kun ?"

The boy gave a side look at Ran, hesitating, and quickly nodded once he spotted his mother menacing expression.

"- So you have no choice than to come with us, Ran-chan ! " Yukiko pointed, a wide smile on her face, all signs of threat vanishing as fast as they appeared.

As they walked through the ship to get to the deck, Conan's mother went to the male Osakan's side, who was a bit behind.

"- Want to help me solving things between the two of them ?" she softly winked at him after a quick check of her surroundings.

"- Would be 'bout time..." he answered with a smirk. " Any ideas ?

\- Yea, I have a plan, just help me with Kazuha-chan when I'll be acting" she required.

"- Consider it done !"

After a nod, Conan's mother caught up with her son, affectionately ruffling his hair. The dark-skinned detective looked at his friend's small back in front of him, unaware of what was coming.

_ "__Knowing your mother, you won't like it and I'm not sure Nee-chan will like it either"_ He thought with a smirk.

Yukiko opened the top deck's only door and had a smile when she saw the night was clear and the stars shining, reflecting into the calm ocean.

"- Perfect ! " she stated, a bit for herself. "Look up there !

\- Wow, it's really pretty" Ran's face enlightened as she noticed the starry sky.

_"__Yea, really pretty"_ Conan thought, but he wasn't referring to the sky and his eyes were on the girl he loved.

Conan's mother, spotting both teens weren't looking at her, gave a sign of the head to Heiji, pointing at the door.

"- Come, Kazuha" He whispered, taking her hand and leading her back inside before she could protest.

"- So, both of you ! " Yukiko went closer to the door and called the two other teens, making them jump out of their daydreams. "Ran-chan, I really really appreciate you but how long to you plan to act like a greek tragedian ?" The girl took a shocked face. "And you" her angry eyes turned at her son, who was trying to make himself smaller than he already was, " how long will you avoid her ? You're a man, damn ! Act like one ! It's time you settle this like adults, as you advised me this morning ! I won't open that door until you speak to each other."

And she slammed it under the astonished faces of our teens, blocking the door's handle with a chair.

"- I have to go to the gala" she explained at Heiji, a bit short breathed by her anger, "don't let them in until they've solved their problems.

\- Yes ma'am ! "

Conan's mother went away at a quick pace, still fuming at her son and the girl she considered almost at her own.

"- It's funny how sometimes Kudô's mother scares me mor' than mine." He joked at Kazuha.

"- Heiji…" she started, not really following what was happening, a bit disturbed by something else.

"- What ?" The dark-skinned detective looked down at her, seeing her cheeks were slightly red.

He was going to ask if she was alright when he noticed he was still holding her hand.

And that they were alone in that corridor.

And that she was looking at him.

Funnily.

_"__Oh crap"_ he sighted.

* * *

"- Sorry... about her" Conan started, a bit uneasy. "And about me I guess...

\- It's not your fault… for your mother at least" she answered, sitting down on a deckchair. "And even if we are stuck, the view is still beautiful." She added, raising her head to look at the sparkling sky.

"- Ran, I…

\- You know, even if you did manage to find a way to trick me each time, I think I never really let go the idea you were Shinichi… Your looks were the same, and also your love for the cases, the football, Holmes… All those tastes so similar. And I still think about something Hattori-kun told me one of the first times we met him. That you never asked how I was and the only thing it could mean was that you were checking on me. He also knows I bet? And so does your mother…

\- Yea, Hattori guessed by himself. Hakase was the one who found me and he warned my parents. Ran, please… let me at least explain what happened." Conan begged, coming closer to face her.

She turned at the boy's pledging face, her feelings still lost somewhere between resentment and curiosity. She removed with her hand the hair a gentle breeze brought into her face and took a long breath, looking into his sad azure eyes.

"- I'm listening…"

* * *

Once Conan was over, she shook her head.

"- All this seems so extraordinary… A poison that make you shrink ? A secretive Black Organization ? If I hadn't been melded in the last conflict, I would have asked you if you were crazy… I can't say I don't understand why you hid yourself. But I can't agree to the fact you fooled me. You could have trusted me. When I think you were almost killed, several times…

\- I must admit I can be gifted into getting in the greatest mess sometimes" He pointed, with a small smile.

"- That's nothing to smile about !" She snapped at him angrily. "I was worried about you but knowing how close I was never to see you again…

\- But it's ok now… Ran, I'll be getting my body back next week. With a bit of help, I plan to put an end to this. The Organization is weakened, it's time for me to give it the finishing blow and to stop hiding.

\- And once again, you'll be putting yourself in danger, Shinichi.

\- That one last time, Ran." He assured, with a serious face.

The girl eyes turned as cold as ice as she looked at him.

"- I won't be waiting for you," the girl stated.

Conan lowered his eyes at his feet, to hide how much that last sentence hurt him.

"- I understand…

\- No, I don't think you do" she pointed, gently taking his chin into his hand to make him look at her. "I'll be coming with you." The boy's eyes widened," I think I've proved to you I could be more than useful. You'll be the head, I'll be the arms.

\- But…

\- No "but". The more dangerous, the more I should come. I'll never get over it if anything happened to you so don't expect me to just sit somewhere and wait. But if you trick me out of your fight, I won't be able to forgive you a second time, is that clear?

\- ... So you're forgiving me for this one ?" Conan dared to deduce.

"- Yes, you're forgiven, my baka deduction freak. I understand it wasn't easy for you either... " She smiled at him and grabbed him into a hug. "I'm sorry but you won't have anything more as long as you're in that kid's body" she whispered into his ear. "It's too bizarre…

\- Don't worry it's the same to me", He giggled, giving back her hug. " And eh... well, after next week, whenever you feel to tell me your answer about that declaration I did to you in London... you know where to find me" he shyly added as they let go.

Blushing a bit, Ran nodded at him and turned his head back to the stars to hide her embarrassment.

"- Want to stay here a bit longer?" He asked. "We don't have to assist to all the galas they'll be having this week...

\- Yes, let's stay here a bit longer" she said, tapping with her hand an empty space near her on the deckchair she was sitting.

He settled against her, his head on her arm and closed his eyes with a sigh of satisfaction.

* * *

"- Eh... I need ta go... toilets... " The west detective announced before sprinting away.

"- Heiji ! Come back here, ya coward !

\- See ya later at the theatre, but don' leave the door at the moment, ya have ta open ta them !"

_"She's so gonna kill me after that one..."_ the Osakan thought with a chill while escaping_."An' I bet Kudô will taunt me fer ages if he hears about that, after all those speeches I gave him last night..."_

* * *

"- I still can't believe she dared to come here" Yukiko told her husband, following with the eyes Chris Vineyard on the scene.

"- A secret makes a woman, woman" he smiled at her. "Wasn't that her catch phrase ?

\- Baka...I'm trying to be serious here" she nudged him with her elbow.

"- Ugh...

\- Oh come on, don't be a baby, that couldn't hurt you..."

As she didn't get an answer, Yukiko turned her head towards her husband to have a better look at him in the dark room. Panting, he really seemed to be in pain and she didn't understand why until she spotted a metal rod was coming out of his shoulder.

"- YUSAKU !"

At her cry, Akai jumped through the seats to see whatever was happening.

"- Switch on the lights ! " He asked to the presenter.

"-Okiya-san" she recognized him despite the tears blurring her vision. "Help me.. He's hurt...

\- Calm down, Yukiko-san" he said, patting her shoulder. "Let me help."

The light haired man bent to the writer, seeing the man was still awake but breathing with difficulty. He approached his ear of Kudô's mouth, noticing he was trying to tell him something.

"- Muscles... paralysis... " he breathed with a extremely low voice.

"- Poisoning ?!" the FBI agent asked with a raised brow and got a small nod from Yûsaku.

Carefully, after checking it wasn't going too deep, Okiya took his handkerchief and removed what looked like an arrow, probably form a crossbow, from the man's shoulder. The lights turned on at that moment and he could notice the writer's white face. Looking back at the arrow he had in hand, he spotted a dark and sticky substance, with a tarry smell.

_"What the hell... Curare ?!"_ he wondered, recognizing the well-known in South America poison.

"- Yukiko-san" Okiya turned to her. " Ask the crew to bring here the ship's medic right now, have him come with a bag valve mask and an oxygen bottle would be great, if he has one. It's urgent, he'll stop breathing in less than 2 minutes."

Eyes widened in fear, Shinichi's mother succeeded to nod and hurried to fetch someone.

* * *

Not really looking at where he was going, Heiji was in a corridor from the third deck when a door slammed open almost on him and someone fully clothed with black and with a hood on the head rushed out.

"- Hey, ya almost hit m... ! " He complained, but was stopped, as the culprit gave him a blow in the chin with the crossbow in_its _hands.

The detective let out a groan when, destabilized, he hit the wall but, after a few seconds to come to his senses again, he followed the same path than his assailant.

Opening the door to the outside, he couldn't spot anyone but then heard a metallic noise and rushed to the guardrail. There wasn't any moon but, thanks to the boat's lights, he could spot the culprit was using a grab hook to go down to the first deck, the one with the swimming pool.

"-WAIT !" The teen shouted, trying to get the person's attention, as he saw he wouldn't be able to catch with him anymore.

Surprised, the criminal let go of the second deck's guardrail, _its_ gloved hand sliding off, but managed to keep the rope in the other one and went down on the floor, giving a pull on it to get back the hook.

"_Crap_" Heiji thought when he saw the culprit was escaping, after throwing the weapon in the ocean.

* * *

"WAIT !"

"-Did you hear that ?" Conan jumped down the deckchair he was lying on.

"- No, what ?" Ran answered, reluctantly quitting her daydream when the boy moved, as it had been a long time she hadn't feel so clam.

"- It sounded... Osakan"

Conan approached the guardrail, trying to go up on his tiptoes to see if he spotted anyone. Noticing he was struggling, Ran grabbed the boy and lifted him.

"- Better, no ? " She smiled and then blushed as she saw the child's embarrassed face. "Come on, it's easier for you like that right ? Let me help, when you're that small..."

Being in a hurry, the small detective didn't argue and looked down at the decks below him.

"- Hey, Hattori, is that you ?

"- Ku.. Conan-kun ?" The Osakan lifted his head to him.

"- What happened ?

\- Someone with a crossbow attack'd me... No big harm done but he seemed in a hurry... I think he was comin' fr'm the theatre, can ya go check ? I'll try to isolate the persons on the first deck with the staff.

\- Ok, meet you there !"

* * *

"- Let's go then !" Conan said.

Both headed quickly at the door, to notice it was closed.

"- Your mother isn't one to do things half hearted... Yukiko-san ? Kazuha-chan ? Anyone ?! It's ok now..." The girl called, knocking on the door.

"-Wait a sec...'" Ran heard on the other side.

Kazuha opened the door with a smile and was going to taunt Ran when she put her eyes on the two serious faces in front of her, guessing something was wrong.

* * *

The three of them finally ended in front of the theatre, to find themselves in a commotion. The crowd around them was blabbering about someone hurt and how they had to evacuate the place. Having a bad feeling, Conan used his small size to sneak up into the almost empty room. He spotted a pack of people, and identified a medic among them, thanks to his white clothes. His heart jumped when he recognized his mother and Okiya in the group. Rushing down the last stairs, his face whitened as he noticed his father in a seat, a medical bag linked to an oxygen bottle covering most of his feverish face and a bloody spot on his shoulder.

"- Tou-s... What happened ? " The boy worried, refraining to call his father "Tou-san" in front of everyone at the last moment.

"- Shin... Conan-kun" his mother started with a coarse voice, clearly indicating she had been crying not a while ago.

Okiya gave a nod to the doctor and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"- Come with me, I'll explain to you."

The man gently led Conan at the bottom of the stairs, near of the scene, at a correct distance of the others to be sure no one could hear them.

"- Kudô-san has been shot, probably with an arrow from a crossbow, shot from one of the VIP balconies I think. " He bluntly stated, feeling beating around the bush wouldn't make it any easier to hear. "The wound wasn't serious but, seeing how your father reacted, he has been poisoned.

\- ... Did you identify what it was ? " the boy asked, trying to stay as focused as possible on what was now a case.

"- From the symptoms and the material I observed on the arrow, curare. We are treating him accordingly.

\- Curare ?! " The small detective was bewildered, knowing how dangerous the poison was if first aid wasn't immediate.

"- I did a few missions in South America for the FBI and I'm pretty sure I recognized it correctly." Akai added. "First muscle paralysis, then, if the poison was in contact with blood, respiratory distress within 2 or 3 minutes. That's exactly what happened.

\- ... What's next ?" Conan finally dared to ask the blond-haired after a short pause.

"- As you probably know, curare is used for medical purpose, as an anaesthetic, mostly because it is quickly destroyed by the organism. So, the only thing we can do is to keep with the respiratory assistance until your father breathes by himself, it will take around 30 minutes I think. The doctor is monitoring him but the risk of a seizure during the process is very feeble. There also shouldn't be any side effect, maybe drowsiness at the beginning."

Conan let a small sigh out, his fear of a more deadly or at least more aggressive poison fading away.

"- Akai, thanks for the first help, you probably saved his live.

\- Anytime. Your family helped me so much, letting me live at your home. I wouldn't have able to watch over _her_ if you didn't accept... "

After a short silence, the small detective remembered why he was there in the first place.

"- Wait, Hattori has just been attacked by someone with a crossbow, apparently escaping from here !

\- Did he stop him ?

\- He said he was heading to the first deck and he'll try to do a blockade.

\- Let's go and check on the first deck then. "Okiya proposed to the boy."I just hope he didn't touch him with another of these arrows, even a scratch..."

Conan nodded as a concerned look appeared on both faces and they quickly walked away from the theatre, without a look back.

That last look could have spared them a lot later and, if they had known, they would very probably have regretted not to have given that glimpse.

Unnoticed, the shadow, hidden in a dark corner, had a wide smile.

_"I see you, Akai. But who's "her"…?"_

* * *

**How to picture "the shadow"… quite the challenge, eh ? So, sorry, but I'll be using cheap tricks like "it" to describe it ; )**

**For info, the one spying on Conan and Akai isn't the same than the one who hits Heiji. Two different stories in there. ; )**


	18. Ship's Arc - Chapter 18- And deep waters

**As promised, our first publication on a Sunday ! **

**Last case continuation : ) And eh... sorry, will be a bit cliffy xD**

**Don't eat too many chocolates and have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**SilverSapphire34523 : And it's not over ; )**

**Great : Yes, it feels good after those last depressing chapters about those 2 : ) And yes, there are a few BO in there, what are they planning... you'll have part of your answers next Wednesday ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 18 : And deep waters**

* * *

"- Hattori-kun !" Okiya's voice called from the door as some crewmen refused to let him and the boy in.

"- Okiya ? Please let him in, he's in charge !" Heiji winked at him as the men moved away.

"- Are you hurt somewhere ? " Conan enquired with a concerned look.

"- Thanks fer lookin' after my health, Ku.. _Conan-kun_ but there's nothin' ta worry about, I'm alright. " the teen smiled.

"- Even a scratch !" His friend insisted, not calming down.

"- Hey, what's happenin' ? I just have a bruised chin, nothin' ta fret about..."

Conan let go a sigh of relief "Good.

\- So, will ya tell me what happened in that theatre ? Ya look like it's someone's burial" he joked.

"- It's my f..." the kid started.

"- There's been a murder attempt on Yûsaku Kudô-san..." the FBI agent finished, as a crewman was approaching, to avoid to the small detective being heard while saying "my father".

"- WHAT ?" Heiji spurted, getting suddenly serious, giving a concerned look at the boy .

"- And we think your friend with the crossbow did it. " Conan pointed. "That bastard shoot a poisoned arrow at my father" He whispered the end of his sentence.

"- Curare to be exact", the blond haired man specified.

"- What the heck ? We aren' in Amazonia... " the Osakan shook his head in bewilderment. "Is he goin' ta be alright ?

\- He's still in a critical state but he should make it." The boy stated, with a serious face.

" - Good." The teen looked around him and asked with a low voice : " An' do ya think it could be, ya know... Them ? With that chick on board ...

\- We can't rule out that possibility but I don't think so... " Okiya whispered back. " It seems a bit flashy for Them... And, sorry to say it so crudely but you would already be dead if it is was the case, not just bruised... There's no witness left with Them involved.

\- Lucky then..." Heiji tried to joke but he was shivering at the thought.

"- So, what did you manage to do, apart from being hit ?" Conan enquired with a small smirk, looking at the few people in the corridor.

"- Tsk." Heiji gave a glare at the boy. Ignoring him, he answered anyway. "The crewmen accepted ta block everyone in an' out so I think we have our culprit in there... No use ta look fer a crossbow in their pockets though, the guy threw it in the ocean... I think they finished checkin' the cabins" he pointed, seeing a pair of crewmen coming at them. "I'll let ya lead, Okiya-san, it'll be easier with an ... _adult_". There was a bit of bitterness in his voice, as he'd been treated as a child by the crew and had to shout quite a while for them to take seriously. He was almost grateful to that damn culprit as the bruise on his face helped him to be more convincing.

"- After a complete search, we found five persons on this deck, the others being at the gala. We had them together in a conference room." the man exposed.

"- Can you lead us to them ? Oh, I'm Okiya Subaru, by the way, a detective, I think you met the assistant I sent, Hattori Heiji ?" The FBI agent said, pointing at the Osakan with his hand as they were walking.

Conan gave a smirk at Heiji who had put a forced smile on his face but the boy could spot the corners of his mouth were twitching as he had to be qualified as an "assistant" once again.

"- Sure. We called the police by the way, since the theatre "incident"... But they won't be here before a few hours.

\- I'll do my best to help you until then, I'm used to such cases."

* * *

"- Oh, you're some of Kudô-san's acquaintances, right ?" A woman noticed, getting up as she saw the three friends entering the room. Conan recognized Saki-san, the dark haired actress and, not far away from her, Ikeda-san, the main actor. On the other side, the boy saw three other persons he didn't know, two women and a men and lastly the producer, Takamoto-san, wiping his glasses.

"- Yes, my name is Okiya. I'm sorry to inform you Kudô-san has been attacked..."

Both high-school detectives took advantage of the fact they weren't in the spotlight to observe the reactions in the room but they didn't see anything else than concern from the movie's team members and polite attention from the others. If the culprit was here, he was a good actor...

"- ... We'll be asking for your alibis for the police records and then you'll be free to go." The FBI agent explained.

Conan gave a sign of the head to Heiji, to signify he wanted to go out to speak with him.

"- Did you have the cabins of each searched ?" The boy asked, once out.

"- Not yet, wanna do it now ?

\- Yea, let me call Hakase first, I'll have him check the background of the movie's crew, to see if there's anyone connected to South America."

The teen nodded as the kid took out his phone to call the professor, who probably wouldn't be happy to hear from him at 10 p.m. ...

* * *

"- Nothin' ", Heiji sighted, getting up after he finished searching his sixth garbage since they began to check the rooms. "An' it was the last.

\- At least we tried. But if the criminal is among them, I don't understand why we didn't find the dark clothes...", Conan wondered, closing the cupboard he was inspecting.

With one last look at the room, he noticed the picture of two dark-haired persons, one giving a kind of prize to the other.

"- Seriously ? Bringing a picture of a previous award even for a four days trip ?" The boy gave a disgusted look at the frame. " How narcissistic can a star be...

\- Anything new, boys ? " Okiya asked as he came in.

"- Nope..." The Osakan answered with a disappointed look. "Still, I think I'm forgettin' somethin'... " he added, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Bah, it'll come back once I'll stop thinin' about it... Anythin' by yer side?

\- No one really has an alibi... Takamoto-san was writing in his room, Ikeda-san and Saki-san were _sleeping_ together in the same cabin - don't ask me to specify what they call "sleeping" - and out of our three outsiders, one was sea-sick, the two others just resting alone in their own room. If you're over, we need to allow the passengers back to their cabins...

\- I don't think we'll find anything else and it's starting to get late... Let them in." Conan concluded with a shrug. He took out his phone and noticed the professor had tried to call him twice. "Let's find a place to call back Hakase..."

They decided to go back to the empty conference room to check with Agasa if he found anything interesting, using the phone speaker so the three of them could hear him.

"- Sorry for keeping you late, Hakase..." The boy apologized.

"- Nah, don't be, it's for Yûsaku-san's sake, I can skip a few hours sleep. So I did the searches you asked me to, unfortunately, the three of them have a connection to South America. The producer, Takamoto-san, went there 15 years ago for "documentation purpose", as he was working on a movie script with his writer. Ikeda-san went there three years ago, for a, let's say a "survival course for rich boys". Seems to be part of a strange custom for young stars... And Saki-san, well she never went there but apparently worked a lot with two native South Americans when she was preparing one of her roles, two years ago.

\- You checked their past, right ?" Conan added. "Any sign of one able to use a crossbow ?

\- There was Ikeda-san who was a kyûdô champion when he was younger... Takamoto-san looks like he's more into firearms. I couldn't find anything on Saki-san but she must have practiced some kind of sport as she does her stunts herself.

\- Ok, thanks for the hard work, Hakase. And good night!

\- Keep me informed ! I won't go to sleep until I know your father is safe, Shinichi-kun !"

Conan had a smile when he hung up, as he knew the professor would keep his word.

"- So, what do you think ?

\- The one who hit me was around my size an' slim. So I think we can rule out Takamoto-san an' that other man, who were both plumb. As ta the size, well it's either a tall woman or a standard heighted man.

\- So you're saying it's either Ikeda-san or Saki-san ?" Okiya pointed, raising a brow as the investigation was so quickly progressing.

"- Yea, I think... We just have ta find how one tricked the other or if they worked together... An' there's that one last thin' I can' remember..." Heiji rubbed his eyes, as if it would help to see the attack again. "Related ta the hand... "

"- Hey, what are you doing, let me go ! "

The three men looked at each other and rushed out of the room, to see where the female cry was coming from. A crewman was holding a struggling woman's arm, woman they recognized as Mora-san. His colleague was looking at a bag on the floor in her cabin under her with horrified look.

"- That's not mine !" She said, as both crew members were glaring at her with a suspicious face.

Conan approached to look inside the sport bag, getting his handkerchief out to search it.

"- Hattori...-niichan, could you come here ?"

Heiji came closer and crouched to the boy.

"- Looks like what you saw ?" He said, getting out a dark hoodie.

"- Could be... The gloves look similar also" the teen added, as he spotted a pair of black gloves below.

"- It's not me ! " The blond-haired pleaded, as she heard the Osakan confirming it could be the murderer's, "I would never hurt Yûsaku-san...

\- I'm sorry miss, but it'll be to the police to decide. Please follow me." The crew member holding her arm asked, as his partner was putting the clothes into a plastic bag to keep them for the police.

Our friends looked at each other, as to consult on what to do. Conan discreetly shook negatively his head. Resigned at the overwhelming proofs and the stubborn faces of the men, the woman stopped fighting and followed them.

"- Let's wait for the police then, I have nothing to hide !"

After he looked at them going away, Okiya gave a smirk at the boy.

"- So, you let innocents getting arrested, now ?

\- You know I won't... It's just that we are not going anywhere at the moment, the criminal will feel safer if he thinks we already have our culprit. And it means more mistakes for us to spot.

\- So, what do we do ?" the FBI agent enquired.

"- I'd like to go and check on my father, I want to see if he's safe and he has enough protection if the culprit tries to finish what he started...

\- I'll come with you. He's probably at the infirmary now that the critical half-hour is over .

\- I'll pass" Heiji excused himself. " I want ta check somethin' near the swimmin' pool... Could ya lend me yer watch ?

\- Try not to be tossed overboard again... " Conan smirked at him, giving him what he asked for.

"- Promise, I won' go near the guardrails, as I know ya'll notice I'm missing far too late, like last time" the Osakan smirked back. "Let's go. "

Once they reached the end of the hallway, Heiji waved at Okiya and Conan and turned left as the two others headed to the stairs. At this moment, a cabin's door, just near Mora-san's, slowly opened, a dark shadow passing the head in the corridor. Spotting the three men she heard from afar were gone_, _the black shape quickly went out the room and walked to where our three friends just separated.

* * *

The West detective took off his vest and shoes, chilling a bit in the night's cold. Leaving everything on a deckchair, he grabbed Conan's watch, switched it on and put it between his teeth. The deck and the swimming pool were lighted but he knew the bottom would be darker and he'll need the pocket light.

_" Midnight bath, eh ? My doc would so much kill me..."_ Heiji thought, slowly entering the cold water.

He finally had remembered what was bugging him since he'd been attacked. He had heard a faint "splash" when he shouted the criminal to wait and his hand slid off the guardrail. If he guessed correctly, he knew who was the culprit and what he was going to find there.

_"Bingo !"_ He smiled, spotting a shining golden item at his right. A watch.

He grabbed it, pocketed it in his jean and headed for the surface, starting to seriously lack of fresh air.

His head finally out, he was getting his first gulp of oxygen when he felt something hard hit him behind the ear. Coughing as he swallowed water due to the shock, he tried to see who was attacking him but he could only spot a shadow, armed with the swimming pool's rescue pole. Ignoring the pain in his head and lungs, Heiji struggled to swim away from the poolside so his assailant wouldn't be able to reach him anymore. Guessing what he was trying to do, the shadow let go of the pole and jumped into the water to finish the work. The Osakan tried to escape but, weakened by his involuntary swallowing, he couldn't avoid being dragged underwater by the culprit who had the arm around his neck, keeping the detective's head in the pool. After a short fight, the criminal felt the teen's body turn limp and let him go_. S_earching into the teen's pocket, the panting shadow found the expected item and took it. The dark shape swam quickly to the poolside and left, after a last glimpse at the body floating in the pool, head into the water.

* * *

"- Who's here ?" A male voice answered from the infirmary, probably the medic's.

"- It's me, Edogawa Conan.

\- Conan-kun ?" The boy recognized Ran's voice.

The girl opened the door and the detective noticed both her and Kazuha were standing, the Osakan still in a fighting pose.

"- Any problem ? " Okiya enquired, feeling the tension from the two girls.

"- Nah, it's just we can never be careful enough..." Kazuha stated. "If that person tried once, we need ta prevent her tryin' again...

\- Good idea" the agent nodded.

Going in, Conan spotted his mother sitting near a bed, holding hands with the one lying on it.

"- How is he? " Okiya asked as he noticed with concern Yûsaku was still equipped with vital sign monitoring.

"- He started breathing by himself again one hour ago and hasn't stopped since" the doctor answered, turning the chair he was sitting on to face the boy and the blond-haired man. "The worst is behind him. Though he probably won't wake up before tomorrow morning..."

Conan briefly closed his eyes from relief and turned to look his father's face, peacefully sleeping. He gently squeezed his mother's forearm to give her a bit of support, unable to do more as they weren't alone, under Ran's sympathetic eyes.

"- And the shoulder wound ?" The blond-haired inquired.

"- I stitched it but I'm waiting for Kudô-san to wake up to perform a functional check, to see if there's any internal damage as it was a bit deep."

The FBI agent signified he understood with a nod and put his hand on Yukiko's shoulder.

"- Did you find who did it ?" She asked with a low voice, turning to both Conan and the man.

"- We have a few clues... They arrested Mora-san" Okiya answered her.

"- But it's probably not the culprit" the small detective pointed out, whispering. " We found the criminal's clothes, there might be some DNA on them for the police. They should arrive here early this morning, we can't do anything more at the moment..." he deplored, shaking his head.

Conan's mother looked a bit disappointed but she knew her son was doing his best to solve the case and that was saying something for a detective as good as him. The boy turned his head as he heard some yawning behind him.

"- Want to go to sleep ?" he proposed, seeing the girls tired looks.

"- But we... Yûsaku-san can't be left unprotected ! " Ran objected, worry in her eyes.

"- It's ok, I'll be on watch" Okiya volunteered. " Go and get some rest, you'll come back in the morning."

The girl gave an interrogative look at Conan, to see if he was ok with it and received a small nod from the kid as an answer.

"- Ok ...

\- Ta bed then ! " Kazuha agreed. "Do ya know where's Heiji by the way ?

\- Yea, by the swimming pool, he said he was looking for something " the small detective answered with his kid's tone . "Let's go fetch him ! You'll be staying here, Yukiko- oba... oneesan ?" He corrected at the menacing glare.

"- Yes, I don't think I'll be able to sleep anyway...

\- My teacher always says it's not good to skip sleep !" he pointed, with his childish act but his serious eyes were straight into her mother's.

After a short silent fight, she gave up with a bored look.

"- Don't they say truth comes from the mouth of an innocent child? You're right, Conan-kun. I should get some rest." She stated with a small smile. " I'm heading to my cabin in a moment.

\- Then good night then and sleep well ! " Conan added, with a look meaning much more than what he just said to his mother.

"- Good night, Conan-kun" She wished with a small nod, to signify she understood the feelings he had to suppress.


	19. Ship's arc - Chapter 19 - Resolution

**Here is the usual chapter on Wednesday : )**

**This closes the ship's arc, told you it wouldn't be too long... See you on Sunday for the beginning of the last arc ! ^^**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Well, he had a break last arc, right ? :p haha ^^;;;**

**Ctopher : Haha, just the contrary xD **

* * *

**Chapter 19 : Resolution**

* * *

The three teens went back to the first deck, going through empty hallways as everyone was now in their cabin due to the late hour. Ran was giving a few looks behind her back, seeing Conan was deep into his thoughts, focused on the case, probably trying to pinpoint what he could have missed.

"- Everything alright, Conan-kun ? " She decided to enquire.

"- Yes, Ran-neechan !" Conan gave a sign from the head to Kazuha's back, as to explain he wouldn't be able to give any more information as long as she was here.

Understanding the message he was passing, Ran didn't insist, and they soon reached the first deck's door.

"- Heiji ? " The Osakan girl called, being the first to come outside.

She turned her head around to look for her friend with the eyes, walking to the swimming pool.

"- Is it him in the pool ? " Ran frowned, spotting a dark skinned person in the water. "But he's not...

\- HEIJI !" Kazuha shouted when she recognized him by his clothes, quickly taking off her shoes and jumping into the pool.

Conan and Ran looked at her with concerned faces, as she swam to the teen and turned him on his back, her arm under his chin to keep his head above the water. The girl's fear increased as he didn't react at all. She got back to the poolside and Ran and the boy helped her to get Heiji out of the swimming pool.

"- Ran, put him on his back." Conan asked as he quickly checked on his friend for external injuries. Spotting nothing, the boy bent his cheek over the teen's mouth to feel his breath but there wasn't anything.

_"__Crap"_

"- There's a faint pulse but he's not breathing, I need to perform CPR" the small detective stated under the Osakan girl's bewildered eyes, " Kazuha-neechan, go and fetch the ship's doctor. " He ordered with a firm voice.

"- Let me do the CPR, it's adult stuff, Conan-kun" The girl refused.

"- His rib cage is still fragile, it will be better with my kid's strength. I learnt how to do at school. " The boy added, as he tipped over Heiji's head and lifted his chin to perform proper reanimation, ignoring the fact it wasn't really likely a first-grader learnt CPR in class.

"- Do what he says, Kazuha-chan, he knows what he's doing" Ran intervened to convince the girl.

"- Ok... " She didn't really agree but there wasn't any time to argue so she ran towards the first deck's door.

In the meanwhile, Conan had pinched the teen's nose and started to blow air in his lungs, several times, confirming at each the Osakan's chest moved up and down, under Ran's worried look. After a few breaths, feeling Heiji's pulse was fading away, he got up and sat on his friend to start a cardiac massage, trying to do it as carefully as possible as he didn't want to break his sternum again but reanimation needed strength to be efficient...

"- Come on, Hattori ! You didn't stay that long in that pool..."

After one long minute of CPR, the teen suddenly started to cough water, to Ran and the boy greatest relief.

"- Hattori ?"

The Osakan didn't answer to the small detective but he moved a bit and had started to breathe again, even if it was unsteady.

"- Ran, help me turn him on his side now, he may be sick..."

* * *

As they put him in a secured position, Conan dropped on his butt, his legs giving in under him as the pressure left.

"- Do you think you can try to find him a blanket ? We need to keep him warm." The boy asked the dark haired girl.

With a nod, she rushed towards the cabins.

"- Just wait a bit longer, help is coming" Conan said with a gentle voice, rubbing Heiji's back with a comforting hand as the teen was starting to be sick.

A drenched and panting Kazuha slammed the infirmary's door open, under the medic's and Okiya's bewildered looks.

"- Help me ! It's Heiji, he... he's..."

"- Please calm down, Tôyama-san" the FBI agent advised as he was getting up. "What happened ?

\- It's Heiji, we found him in the swimmin' pool, he's not breathin' !" she answered, half crying. "You have ta save him !" She asked the medic.

"- Let me gather my material" The doctor quickly got up and grabbed some items. "Could you take that oxygen bottle ?" He said, turning to Okiya.

The FBI agent gave a concerned look at Yûsaku, hesitating, but finally nodded at the man and grabbed the bottle.

"- Lead us there, miss"

* * *

"- What do you think happened ? " Ran wondered, with a look at Conan.

She had brought a blanket and covered Heiji with it as the boy was washing his face since his sickness seemed to have stopped.

"- I don't know but, old wound or not, it's not like him to just drown by himself... " the small detective frowned, eyes on his friend.

* * *

"- He's here !" Kazuha exclaimed, pointing her finger at the three teens beside the water.

"- The young miss here told me you found your friend in the swimming pool ?" the doctor enquired, crouching at the male Osakan.

"- Yes " Ran confirmed.

She gave a side look at Conan and, as he nodded to her, started to repeat everything he asked her to say about the first aid given and Heiji's previous injury. As she spoke, the medic was checking the teen's vital signs, trying to keep the blanket on him as much as possible. With a frown when he heard about the recently broken sternum, he opened the teen's shirt and checked his rib cage with the fingers.

"- You very probably saved your friend's life, miss, first aid was performed perfectly ", the medic said after a little while, letting go of his stethoscope and turning to Ran with a small smile. He turned to Okiya. "Can you put that bottle here? Thanks.

\- Do you think Heiji-niichan will be alright? " Conan asked the doctor as the man was putting the oxygen mask on the teen's mouth.

"- I'll be giving him oxygen during the next hour then decide if he needs to go to the hospital or not... He should be ok but with drowning, you never know... With his previous injury, he'll be extremely prone to get a pneumonia."

With a worried look, Kazuha gently ruffled his wet hair and the Osakan started to move at the touch.

"- Heiji ?" she called, seeing he was probably about to wake up.

_" 'Zuha ... ?"_ He thought with a pained grimace, trying to open his eyes. _"__Damn, why do I feel so tired...?"_

"- I'm here, Heiji" she added with a comforting voice, grabbing his hand.

He did his best to squeeze it to signify he heard her and finally succeeded to open his eyes. As he remembered what happened, his eyes starting to fill with worry when he spotted so many faces around him.

"- Did you see who attacked you ?" Okiya enquired, getting a nod from the teen. He turned to the doctor. "Can we take off the mask for a second ?

\- Saki-san... " Heiji started with a coarse voice as the medic put the oxygen away. "But ... Kudô-san ... alone?

\- Who's with him ?! " Conan suddenly spurted out, when, with the help of the Osakan, he finally understood the implications of Okiya being here.

"- No one, Yukiko-san left..." the FBI agent answered to the boy."There was an emergency, it was for a second..."

The small detective turned white and rushed to the door.

"- Conan-kun, wait !" the man ordered when he saw the boy going away.

"- I'll go after him", Ran volunteered with a sign of the hand to stop the agent, "You look after Hattori-kun."

* * *

"- Get away from him ! " Conan ordered, panting from his running to the infirmary.

He had rushed to the door, to spot Saki-san near his father's bed. Noticing him, the woman turned her head at the boy with a friendly smile.

"-What's the matter, Conan-kun ?

\- What are you doing here ? " the boy snapped.

"- I just came to check on Kudô-san...

\- On that time ? " Ran pointed as she went through the door.

The actress frowned with contrariety as a second intruder came in but she managed to keep a straight face.

"- I was worried, I couldn't sleep... What happened is horrible, I can't believe Mora-san...

\- Drop with the act, we know Mora-san has nothing to do with this" Conan stopped her with a serious look.

"- What are you saying, Conan-kun ? The crew arrested her... Are you trying to play the detective ?" She gave a small laugh and looked at Ran, as if she was going to smile at the joke with her.

"- Arrested just because you hid some evidences in her cabin..." the boy continued. "You found a way to convince Ikeda-san to spend the evening with you instead of going to the party. Once he was alone with you, you probably gave him a sleeping pill so you'll have an alibi for the night. You sneaked into the theatre, in one of the VIP balconies and tried to kill Kudô-san. But you met Heiji-niichan when you were escaping and your watch's wristband broke when you were almost fell from the second deck. Since you were in a hurry, you didn't retrieve it, threw the crossbow into the sea and went back to the cabin. You quickly packed your clothes but, as Heiji-niichan had put a blockade in the cabin's deck, you couldn't go back to throw them outside, so you left them in Mora-san's room since you had her key. I bet you thought it would divert the attention from you so you could escape before they analyzed the clothes, as they would find your DNA on it. You probably noticed Heiji-niichan was looking for the watch you dropped and attacked him to get it back... And came back here to finish the work with Kudô-san.

\- That quite the imagination you have, boy." The actress smirked.

"- And will you deny you just tried and kill Heiji-niichan ? Both your hair and clothes are wet, you can't pretend you just showered... And unluckily for you, he's still alive and will be able to testify you assaulted him.

\- That annoying brat had found my watch in the swimming pool... He could have used it against me, you all saw it that first night..." She stated, her mask falling down. " And killing him was going to leave the infirmary empty for me to finish what I started, 2 birds with a stone, you see...

\- I don't get it" Ran objected, shaking her head negatively. "Why are you so eager to kill Kudô-san ?

\- It has probably to do with the picture in her cabin..." Conan stated with a hard look at the culprit." Who is that man who was giving you the award ? Your brother ?

\- Yes. He was supposed to write the next scenario for Takamoto-san but Kudô-san decided he wanted to try to write scripts and thanks to his connections, everything my brother had prepared was pushed aside in a second... That should have been the biggest event in our careers, he was planning to have me as the female lead and the movie was supposed to be broadcast in so many countries... He couldn't accept it, it was killing him. And the night Kudô-san got the price, he drove himself at the grave! That damn man stole everything from both of us, just on a whim ! " She shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Yûsaku, filled with anger.

" - But it's Takamoto-san, the producer, who came at him and begged him to write something for his spy film... Not the contrary. " Conan pointed.

After a moment of surprise, the woman had a bitter smile.

"- Never mind now... " She sighted, getting a knife out.

"- Don't ! " Ran shouted, as she understood the woman was going to attempt to her own life.

The small detective had already a ball ready and knocked the woman out with a high speed kick. The teenage girl gave Conan a surprised look as the criminal fell on the floor.

"- So that's how you solve cases in my father's stead ?

\- Yes, that's one of the gadgets Hakase designed for me and my small size. Though I use the stunning needles from my watch more often on Kogoro" he answered, pushing the knife out of the woman's reach with his foot. "She will wake up in a few minutes, can you find something to tie her with ?"

His eyes fell on his father and he gave him a protective look. This time, he really had been in danger...

"- It's over, Tou-san. I guess I understand now what it's like to be on the side of the one who worries...

\- Welcome on board" Ran joked with a smile, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder.

* * *

Amuro couldn't shake off the smile on his fake face, as he watched once again the picture in front of him on his computer screen. It made so much sense… Really, the Organization would have needed a true detective, someone who could gather information like him. Having your enemies hiding just under your nose was a bit unprofessional for an international criminal group. But helping them had never been his mission, quite the contrary.

The Organization was a bit of a mess actually, due to the loss of the infiltrated agents in the Police and the leak of the information that was on the chip. Every important agent and centre had been evacuated since the data was stolen so his mission for the Secret Police continued and would until he could find a way to unmask their Boss.

He remembered when he started his previous mission for Them : finding a scientist who escaped, someone who absolutely had to be brought back to their Boss. Following Sherry's trail until Mouri Kogoro's Agency, he had discovered a small boy, Edogawa Conan was the brain behind the man. A bit of extra research later, he linked the kid's arrival to the disappearance of Kudô Shinichi and concluded, how impossible it may seems, those two persons were in fact the exact same one. His curiosity had been satisfied and it was amusing to annoy the boy as he tried to use his gadgets to solve the cases Mouri couldn't see through, so he didn't feel the need to share the information with anyone.

And it didn't help him with finding Sherry : the first time, he did by pure luck, as he was looking into Kogoro's computer… And now everyone thought the girl had been killed into the Mystery Train, courtesy of Vermouth.

He also lately found out Akai was alive, but that was more a side mission, though he had been allowed to look into his death by the Boss. He also decided to keep that fact quiet but it didn't stop him to look for the man. Feeling the guy had some connection with the Kudôs, especially the son, he had decided he would do his best to follow him, hoping to cross the FBI agent's way.

_"__And it was worth a try",_ he grinned _"__even if I had to pressure Vermouth again… I guess they also had a disguise master by their side to fool me last time, but I was right, Okiya is Akai…"_

After acceding to that truth thanks to his eavesdropping in the theatre, he came back to his cabin to try to determine who was that 'her' Akai seemed to want to protect. And he found her.

He grinned once again at his screen, displaying the picture of an auburn haired first grade girl…

Sherry. Or Akai. Whoever. If he brought back one of those two to the Organization, he'd be able to meet the Boss.

Bourbon closed his computer as he heard the door opened, letting Vermouth in, as she shook her hair to release them from the complicated hairdo she had made for the gala.

"- I didn't expect tonight to be so… agitated" she stated with a bored voice. "Was your night interesting, Bourbon ? Since you forced me into that mess, I hope at least_you_ are entertaining yourself…

\- I spotted an old acquaintance" he answered with a grin.

"- Seeing your face, it's the kind you would toss overboard ?

\- No… we, detectives, prefer to unveil our opponents' secrets to destabilize them… So they jump by themselves." He said with an evil smile. He then continued with a serious look. "I'm done here, do you still have your way out from that ship? I have a _friend_ I'd like to meet as soon as possible.

\- You shouldn't abuse from my gentleness, Bourbon. You'll find it has its limits." She threatened. "You obviously found something here. Give me some piece of information, and I'll arrange your trip back in the minute."

Amuro looked into her eyes, trying to decide between pressuring her again or giving her what she wanted. He chose the second option, as he didn't want to definitively declare himself as Vermouth's enemy, she could still have some use later.

"- Sherry is alive."

She squinted at him with surprise. She had that information but she didn't expect him to find that out. Though she couldn't say it annoyed her, on the contrary. The girl was off limits for her due to a stupid promise but whatever Bourbon did, it wasn't her fault.

"- I thought you saw her blow up with that carriage ?" She asked, to give the change.

"- I've come across some recent information. I need to go back to the harbour asap to check. I don't want her to find a way to escape again. Do you think you can help me ?

\- Who do you think I am ? Easy, boy.

\- Oh and keep it quiet at the moment please, I'd like to announce it personally to _Him_…"

* * *

When Yukiko entered the infirmary the next morning, she wasn't expecting to find so many people in there.

In the right corner, she noticed her husband and Okiya were chatting with a low voice. Yûsaku, spotting her, gave her a wide smile and put his finger on his mouth to signify her to be silent, with a sign of the head to the bed to her left. Advancing to see who was sleeping here, she saw Conan and Ran, cuddled one against the other, deeply asleep.

_"I'm glad for you, Shin-chan"_ She gently smiled.

As she was going to her husband, she frowned a bit when she saw Heiji on the bed near him. Unlike the other teens, he didn't seem well, looking pale and covered under many blankets. Kazuha was also there, sleeping on the bed, close to Heiji's side, a slight shadow of worry on her sleeping face. The girl, feeling her friend was shivering during the night, had decided the best way to keep him warm was to also go on the bed. Though she didn't dare to go under the blankets.

"- How are you doing ? " she whispered to her husband, after a nod to say hello to Okiya san.

"- Not so bad, I was lucky to have a specialist in South American poisons by my side.

\- It's amusing, usually on the cases you solve, people don't consider lucky with such an acquaintance" she teased with a wink the FBI agent. "What happened ? Shinichi threw me out to go to sleep and all of them are here now... And Hattori-kun doesn't look so well.

\- They caught the culprit last night. " Okiya answered her. "After she tried to kill both Hattori-kun and Kudô-san...

\- WHAT ?!" The woman put her hand to her mouth, as to get back the cry she just let out but she hadn't be able to restrain it. "Wouldn't the culprit keep a low profile as they caught the wrong one ? It would have been easier to escape for him...

\- Apparently not, she did prefer to try to finish what she started..." Yûsaku pointed, shaking his head." It was Saki-san, it seems she had some grudge against me...

\- Yea, you should do something about your fangirls..." Conan ironically yawned, woken by his mother's cry, rubbing his eyes as he came near. He heard a sneeze on his left, in Heiji's bed. " And you should do something about that loud voice of yours, you woke up everyone..."

Ran had also got up and was near Kazuha, who was sitting on the male Osakan's bed.

"- Oh, that was daring, Kazuha-chan, to sleep in Heiji's bed... " she winked at her with a teasing smile.

The green-eyed girl turned into a delicate shade of scarlet.

"- It's not what ya think... I felt he was cold an'... Stop, teasing me, ya also slept with a male tonight !" Kazuha was just joking but she didn't expect to make her friend blush... "Atchoo !

\- Ah ! I told you you should have gotten some dry clothes in the cabin instead of sleeping here in wet ones..." Ran pointed out, happy to change the subject.

"- I couldn'... I had ta keep an eye on that Ahou" she explained, gently touching his hand.

"- That Ahou didn' want ya... ta catch a cold fer him, ... Ahou" Heiji answered, eyes still closed but a faint smile on his face.

"- Heiji, ya're awake ?!"

He had a small cough and nodded, opening his eyes, to look into Kazuha's emerald green ones.

Conan cleared his throat to have their attention as they seemed to be lost in each other's look and presented Heiji the glass of water he just fetched.

"- Ehh no thanks... no water fer a while fer me... please" He joked to his friend.

"- Baka" the boy smiled back.

* * *

"- Come Kazuha-chan, you need some fresh air, let's grab something to eat and just do something else than just hanging around in the infirmary..." Ran said, grabbing the other girl's arm.

"- But Heiji...

\- You heard the doctor, he won't move for a while, you'll find him in that bed when you'll come back..." the long haired sighted. "Let's go. Want to come, Conan-kun ?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"- I'm a bit tired after yesterday night, I'll stay here and rest."

She nodded at him and waved a goodbye, dragging Kazuha along her.

"- You start to look better, see it was a good idea to go out ?" Ran concluded as they both were enjoying a sunbath on the first deck after a meal.

"- Sorry, I guess I'm turnin' overprotective" Kazuha smiled, a bit shameful. "But last night really scared me out...

\- I guess it'll be a lifelong problem for us, as we each love some baka detectives who like to jump into cases" The girl shrugged, a bit blushing.

"- Well, if there's one advantage fer ya ta have Kudô-kun away, it's that ya don' see him tryin' ta get killed every damn second o' the day...

\- Not knowing doesn't make things any better." She sadly shook her head, remembering all the dangerous cases Shinichi went through as Conan. And how close she was to lose him on the day he got shot and she gave him her blood.

"- Yea, I guess... An' what about ya ? Ya seem in a better mood, don't ya ? Did you speak with Kudô-kun ? Ya stopped snappin' on everyone an' ya're even nice with Conan-kun again...

\- I did a bit of self introspection... Decided it was time to let go some stuff and to get more trustful.

\- Perhaps even too much..." The Osakan pointed out, reminding the previous night." You really let that boy do that CPR ? I mean, I'm glad Heiji is alright and all but don't tell me they learn that in grade-school... He's always been strange that kid...

\- He's too intelligent for his own good I guess, a bit like Shinichi..." She daydreamt, thinking at him.

"- If ya say so..." Kazuha concluded, not convinced at all.

* * *

"- Ne, Kudô " Heiji started as he woke up again, spotting only the boy in the infirmary.

Conan closed the book he had in his hands – a Sherlock Holmes of course – and got up to came near his friend who was straightening himself on his bed.

"- Looks like everything is good... with yer Nee-chan again ?" he grinned, getting his hand out of the blankets to ruffle the boy's hair.

"- Ahh stop it, you know I don't like that... " He grumbled, trying to avoid the hand, but he couldn't refrain from blushing. "Get that hand back into your bed, you don't want to catch a cold...

\- Oh, that good ?" He winked when he spot his friend's red cheeks, putting his arm back under the blankets. "Hope ya two... aren' doin' anythin' illegal ?"

Conan rolled his eyes at him and then smirked.

"- We are both minors...

\- ... Fer Kami's sake, get that image out... o' my head, now !

\- You started this, cherry boy " Conan pointed, sticking his tongue out to the Osakan. "But yea, we solved most of things... And you ? Looks like you're at your best again at least for stupid jokes ? No sign of fever ?

\- Nah.. Just tired, body feels heavy but... the only reason I feel hot... is the bunch of blankets Kazuha ... covered me with last night. " The teen gave a glimpse to the bed near him, remembering he wasn't the only patient from the previous day. " How's yer father by the way ?

\- Went back to his cabin when you were asleep, Okaa-san is with him. The doc said there was no use in keeping him here, as the poison left his body, he just needs rest.

\- Good ta know.

\- And Akai left with the police, to "explain them the case" he said" Conan added and then a slight smile appeared on his face." Though I'm not sure it was the only reason. He seemed really eager to go back home...

\- He's in love, eh ?

\- With all the bugs he put at Hakase's, I think the correct word would be "obsessed". "

They looked at each other and giggled at the thought of Akai and Ai acting like a couple.

"- I really can't picture them together..." Conan concluded when he calmed a bit. "Hmm speaking of couples... "

His face was serious again and he got up to look into Heiji's interrogative emerald eyes.

"- Hattori...

\- Yea ?

\- Tell her."

The teen gave his friend a surprised look before his face turned thoughtful, a bit reddish.


	20. BOs arc-Chap20-Scarlet showdownagain?

**Welcome into the fourth and final arc ! : )**

**Sooo, for plot purposes, we'll be a bit flashbacking during the next chapters. ****I did my best to make it clear, hope it'll be alright for you ^^;;;**

**Take a good breath, I must admit all the incoming chapters are cliffy... Well, it had to be tense, it is a fight VS the BO after all ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**SilverSapphire34523 : Yea, I had fun writting those lines xD Well, more Akai incoming this chapter ; )**

**Great : Yep, I think the manga already proved Bourbon tended to be an idiot, expecially when Akai was involved... I'm just following that direction :p**

* * *

**Chap 20 : Scarlet Showdown... Again ?!**

* * *

"- Sooo tired..." Ai yawned when she came back from her lab in the living room where Agasa was, watching the TV.

"- Did you finish the antidote ?

\- Yes" she smiled, throwing herself in the couch in front of the professor, "I can't guarantee it won't be painful but, at least, it looks like it won't kill the patient..." her eyes fell on the TV, putting an ironical smirk on her face. "Oh, quite the coincidence, a reportage about the world's most dangerous poisons, I should ask to have mine in there...

\- Didn't you just say it "won't kill" ?" Agasa stated nervously. "Well, if you finished it, that's good news, Shinichi-kun will be happy !

\- I told him to wait next week. And I'm not sure I'll allow him to take it..." the small scientist face turned darker. "If the BO is still looking for him, he'll just become a sitting duck with his adult features... And I may be exposed as well...

\- Don't be so pessimistic, Ai-kun, a good part of them has already been arrested..." he gave her a comforting smile.

"- You'll laugh less when They'll be at our door..."

They both jumped when they heard the bell and the professor gave a heavy look at the girl.

"- Are you a psychic ?" He concluded, half smirking at her.

"- Stop saying non-sense and just go answer that...

\- It's a bit late, I wonder who it could be... Coming ! "

The old man got up to the door and opened it with a smile.

"- Yes ? ... What are you ... ?" Agasa's eyes focused on the object just in front of his nose, the kind he wasn't used to see : a gun.

"- Excuse me for my rudeness but I'll be inviting myself at your home tonight, I want to have a little chat with your small housemate," the young man said with a soft voice. "Hands up, stay calm and you won't be hurt."

The professor gave a quick look behind him, spotting Haibara who was with her back to him, focused on the TV, not noticing anything was happening. The man at the door looked in the same direction and smiled when he saw the girl.

"- Ai-kun, RUN ! " Agasa shouted, as he felt this smile wasn't announcing anything good. "Ugh...

\- Damn geezer..." the man said, after knocking him with his gun's butt.

At the noise, Ai at last turned her head, to be struck in horror when she saw the scene. Amuro, aka Bourbon, was at the door, a gun in the hand, looking at her with a grin. The girl then spotted the professor on the floor, a line of blood trickling though his almost-bald head.

"- Hakase !" she called, jumping on her feet from the couch.

"- He's just knocked out." the man declared, locking the door behind him. "But I won't guarantee his life anymore if you try to escape...

\- What do you want ? What are you doing to Hakase ?" She asked, with a childish tone, trying to sound as helpless as possible, which wasn't so hard as her body already started to shake badly, like each time one of Them was around her. "Aren't you Kogoro-san's assistant ? Aren't you the one who stops the bad guys ?"

Amuro's smile widened, taking the shape of a smirk, as he walked further into the house.

"-Drop the child act, Sherry. I know exactly who you are."

Instead of panicking, the small scientist decided to keep with the act, getting her hands in front of her eyes, her shoulder shaking from her sobs.

"- I don't understand..."

Stopping in front of her, he gave a flat look and took one of her hands in his.

"- Don't underestimate me, girl. I know you're Hell's angel's daughter and you somehow pursued her work, until it led you to that shrunken form. I know there's at least one other like you, Edogawa Conan, better known as Kudô Shinichi." The girl's face turned white at all the truths the blond-haired man was spitting." And I know your neighbour is a disguised FBI agent who decided to protect you, Akai Shûichi.

\- At your service."

Both Bourbon and Ai turned to the door with the same move, to see "Okiya" coming in, a gun into his left hand.

"- Just how did you... " Amuro was so shocked he let the girl's arm go. "You're supposed to be on that damn ship until tomorrow...

\- I had a bad feeling so I found an excuse to leave with the police's chopper back to Tokyo. Looks like I was right..." He gave a quick look at Agasa and bent, keeping his eyes and gun at Amuro, to check the man's pulse. " Was it you , the man accompanying Chris Vineyard ? " He continued, once he was sure the professor was just knocked out.

"- Yea and after I overheard a certain conversation in the theatre last night, I knew I would find something interesting here..." The man stated with a smirk.

Akai cursed himself for not being cautious enough on the ship, knowing at least two members of the B.O. were there.

"- And now what ? What do you want ?

\- Oh, easy, I want to bring back that girl to the Organization so I can meet their Boss." he answered, pointing his gun at Ai. "And before she performs experiments on the children like her parents did with me...

\- What ? " The small scientist looked at him, not able to believe what he just said about her parents.

" - They didn't tell you ? No surprise, they had to keep a sugar-face to their beloved daughters, eh ?

I knew you parents... Your mother mostly. As a parentless child, I ended in one of the Organization's "orphanage", where she and her husband were supposed to be our doctors... Just making a few checks they said behind their big smiles, but in fact, we were some damn guinea pigs... as children ! " Amuro's face was twisted with anger at the memory. As to Ai, she was unable to say anything from the shock of what she was hearing. "If it wasn't for that _one_ guy, I'll still be trapped there... Probably brainwashed and turned into a killing machine for the Organization..." After a quick sad shadow passed through his face, he was now showing pure hate as he put his eyes on the disguised agent. "That one man you killed, Akai !"

The detective's gun was now pointing at the bespectacled, his hand shaking with rage.

"- Scotch ? He was your partner in the BO, also an infiltrated agent, right ?

\- So much more than that... " Amuro shook his head, eyes a bit watery. "He was a father to me... My mentor, the one who got me out of the Organization and got me a work at the Secret Police...

\- I already told you I was sorry about what happened but..." The FBI agent started with a sad look. "Both of you would be dead if I had let him like that during that mission... His cover had already been blown up and he was gravely hurt, he knew himself it was the only soluti...

\- Don't try to justify his murder !" The blond-haired detective interrupted with a shout. "I could have saved him ! We could have fled, the B.O wasn't here yet...

\- They were only a few dozen of meters away... And you would have also been killed or captured AND killed by them." Akai looked at him in the eyes. "You're an agent, Japanese or American, it's the same thing : protect the mission first. Then the others. And yourself last...

\- Shut your damn mouth ! Enough chit-chat. We'll never agree... About Scotch, about the fact you are protecting a monster like that... " he spit with disgust, pointing the small scientist with his free hand.

Ai's face showed how she was hurt but she just looked at her feet in answer, knowing in her deep self she hated who she had been and still somehow was...

"- Once They'll know she's alive, she'll be the fastest way to reach their Boss !" Amuro added.

"- I won't let you, Rei-kun !" Akai raised his gun at him.

"- DON'T !"

Ai's cry was covered by the sound of two gunshots and then everything was silent again.

* * *

Carrying his hostage on his shoulder, Amuro was panting with the effort : even if the girl wasn't heavy or moving, it was exhausting climb a hill with a dead weight.

He gave a look at the GPS on his phone.

_"Here we are"_

And indeed, when he lifted his eyes on his left, he noticed an old mansion, a bit hidden by the woods, like the rest of the place. He wouldn't complain about that last part as it allowed him to walk without having to hide his burden. And this was a hideout after all, it had to be remote.

He knocked on the door, hoping the whole thing wasn't a prank, as it would be quite hard for him to explain why he had a girl in his arms and the traditional house really seemed abandoned, not really what he expected from the BO's headquarter.

An old man opened the door and looked at him and the body on his shoulder, apparently not surprised at all to see a middle-age man hanging around with a tied unconscious female first grader.

"- Bourbon, I guess ?" he asked with a low voice.

"- Yes"

As he was now observing the man from a closer place, Amuro noticed he may look old but his eyes revealed he was probably a very dangerous person if you annoyed him. Luckily enough, his answer seemed to be the good one and the doorkeeper opened the door wider, with a sign to invite him inside.

The man took a corridor and walked through a few turns, followed by the BO agent and called an elevator from what looked like a vase on a stand but was in fact a hidden switch.

"- Someone will greet you on the lower floors" the old man pointed out, waving him goodbye as he walked in the elevator.

Amuro nodded, a bit uneasy, and waited for the doors to close on him.

* * *

"- Gin " The secret police agent gulped at the long white-haired man who was greeting him with his best murderous grin when the doors opened.

"- Bourbon. Long time no see." He gave a look at the small body over his shoulder. "So it is what she should look now ? I can't understand the Boss believes all this bullshit..."

Amuro grabbed the girl to put her back on him, feeling she was sliding.

"- That's how it is. Shall we go ?

\- Follow me."

The long-haired man walked him through an underground facility, apparently on several floors, as they took a second elevator to go deeper in the mountain.

"- Put her here" He ordered, opening a dark cell in a creaking noise.

The agent obeyed, bending to gently put the unconscious girl on the floor.

"- When will I see Him ?" He asked as he was getting up, his back still turned at the man.

"- Later tonight." Gin answered, locking the door behind him. " Come, there's something I need you to see".

Turning to the man with a surprised look, Amuro followed the BO's member into another corridor and his guide finally opened another room, making sign for him to enter.

Bourbon walked in, to be greeted by Vodka's grin and right fist into in stomach. As he was coughing on the ground trying to get his breath back, his aggressor grabbed his wrists, pulling him on his feet with his inhuman strength, and tied him on the restrains on the ceiling, arms above his head, shoes barely touching the ground.

"- And now" Gin started with an evil grin, coming near the prisoner. He pulled his hair, throwing a wig and a partial mask to reveal a dark haired teen. "Will you tell us who you are ?"

* * *

**Four days earlier**

* * *

"- DON'T !" Ai let out a cry as the two men were shooting at each other.

Near her, Amuro grunted as he fell on the floor, hand clenched on his chest, blood starting to taint his clothes.

"- Tsk, that fool" Akai sighted as he saw the SP agent on the ground. "When we have the same enemies, why killing each other... ?"

He took out his phone to call his boss, James, and explained quickly the situation.

"- Shiho-san, would you have a cloth or whatever I can use to compress the wound ?

\- Why would you want to save him ?" She was still shaking from the fear she just had and couldn't understand the idea.

"- Because everyone deserves a second chance. Please." He gave her a pledging look.

The girl shrugged and fetched the professor's blouse which was on a nearby chair.

" - Here you go." She threw the cloth at him and went to check on Agasa.

The old man was lying on the floor, a cut on his head but he was clearly just knocked out. She gently patted his shoulder after she put her cardigan under the man's head, so he would be more comfortable.

"- Sorry, once again it is my fault, Hakase" Ai said with a sad smile.

She got up to come back to Akai, who was searching Bourbon's pocket with his free hand.

"- I'm glad you saved us but... Weren't you supposed to be on that ship until tomorrow ?

\- I didn't like the idea of going away from here" he admitted, shaking his head. "And there was Vermouth on board...

\- What ?!" The girl's face was filled with surprise. "Why isn't she hiding ?

\- As confident as ever that one..." He gave a smirk at the thought. "It looks like it didn't disturb her to see half the Organization falling down those last weeks ... So, well, I felt uneasy and as there was a chopper from the police, I asked them to bring me back here..."

He gave a satisfying smile when he found Amuro's phone in his trouser and pocketed it.

"- A police chopper ?" Ai raised a brow. "Were those case magnets once again involved in something ?

\- Yea, someone attacked Kudô-san... but he's alright and we arrested the criminal."

With relief, Ai let go of the breath she hold as she heard the news.

"- What will you do of him ? " She asked as her eyes fell on Bourbon's body.

"- Send him in one of our hospitals " Akai stated as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "He should make it but we can't have him walking around freely anymore, not with all he knows...

\- Better take all the necessary precautions, yes... Hey, that's not that guy's blood !" she jumped, spotting the agent's now red sleeve.

Taking his chin in her hands to have him turn his head, she saw a deep cut above the man's brow.

"- He touched you !

\- Bah, just a graze, never mind." The man shrugged.

"- You're just like that _detective_" she faintly smiled, taking out her handkerchief to wipe the blood, " ... appearing from nowhere when you don't expect him anymore and playing it hard when he gets hurt protecting me... How do you always know when we are in trouble?" She added, a bit more for herself.

"- Ahh that... " the FBI agent was slightly ashamed,"... no true miracle, just technology..."

She quickly moved away from him with widened eyes.

"- Technology...? Are you telling me this house is bugged ?!

\- Yea... We wanted to tell you but...

\- We ? Who ? Kudô-kun? Hakase ? "

Akai nodded at both names.

"- Urgh ! I can't believe you peeped on me all day without telling me ! You bunch and your secrets !" She raised her arms to the air, to take some Kami as a witness to all this madness.

"- Sorry, I know we should have warned you... But I promise, it was just the living room, no "peeping" as you say..."

She gave him a bored look, spotting he was at least trying to look a bit guilty. Her mouth turned into a grin as an idea popped into her head.

"- Fusae.

\- What ?" He gave her an interrogative look.

"- The biggest newest Fusae branded bag you can find. And I may forgive you. Have the others help you if need."

* * *

**Three days earlier**

* * *

"- Kanako, wait ! "

"- Hurry, you lazy head ! " Aoko laughed, running at full speed straight in front of her. "Victory ! " she claimed as she touched the Torii near her.

Kaito finished to climb the last steps of the temple's stairs and gave the girl a bored glare.

" - Hey, don't give me that kind of look, you're the one who said you wanted to train !

\- Yea but getting up so early on the Golden week is a crime !

\- Haha and you do know a lot about those" she smirked at the panting teen.

"- Shhh ! " He hushed her, giving a suspicious look around him.

"- Come on, relax a bit Kaito, there's usually no one here and above all at 7 a.m. on a national holiday" Aoko winked at him.

"- It's because I never relax that I'm alive today, Aoko, you won't change that about me... And the other part you won't change is..."

He approached her with his biggest malicious grin and grabbed her hand.

"- Uhh... Kaito ? Kyaaaa ! "

In a pop of smoke, Aoko's sport clothes turned into a frilly light blue dress with assorted shoes.

"- Hmmm white... You've always had that innocent side, Aoko... Though I hoped you'd have levelled to more mature colours, now you have a boyfriend... " he regretted with a slightly perverted look.

"- Kaito, you... Bakaito ! " she shouted at him, getting rid of his hand still holding hers. "I swear, starting now, we'll have sashimi every meal, even breakfast..."

The Thief had a chill at the though. Fish. All day long... No way !

"- Ehem... Aoko-sama ?" He started, kneeling at her and bending to put a kiss on her hand. "Did I tell you how beautiful you are again today?

\- Flattery won't work... " she stated, sticking her tongue at him.

After a moment looking at his disappointed face, Aoko laughed wholeheartedly, unable to sulk any longer.

"- Come on, get up, you look stupid... " she giggled, wiping a tear of laughter at the corner of her eye. " At least, I must say it's a nice dress, you've always had a good taste... " she stated with a look at herself. "And I didn't feel anything, looks like you're back at your top !

\- Nah.. " The teen shook his head in negation as he came back to his feet. " I'm still a bit slow, I couldn't do the hair...

\- Kaito, your "slow" is better than human's "fast" already." The girl gently smiled.

"- But I'm no ordinary human, you should know that, Aoko " He answered, taking her arm to get her closer to him.

"- Of course I know... You're my baka magician thief of a boyfriend" she pointed with a soft voice, as he started approaching his head to hers. "But if you want that kiss, you'll have to run longer than 30 minutes ! " She smirked, putting her fingers on his mouth. "Let's see how much motivated you are !"

And she ran away to the stairs again under Kaito's outraged look.

"- Aoko ! "

* * *

**Here also, I hesitated in what to do with Bourbon... Intelligent enough to go with the good guys or stupid enough to stay in his old grudges... Went for the latter, sorry for Bourbon's fans ; )**


	21. Bo's Arc- Chap21 - Calm before the storm

**Hello for the chapter of the day : ) **

**We'll be ba****ck to the current timeline at the end of the chapter ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Yeah, let's say that last arc is filled with my wildest theories, this is one of them... We'll have the answers in a few years... ; )**

**Estelle : Haha, 3 possibilities, only one answer... You'll see in this chapter ; ) I really hesitated in who the teen was going to be so, at first, I didn't chose but when I worked on the final scene... Well, I had something else in mind for the other two so I took the 3rd for this little trick : )**

* * *

**Chap 21 : Calm before the storm**

* * *

**Two days earlier**

* * *

"- What ?! Ya've been attacked by that dark-skinned guy ?" Heiji spurted to the man and the girl sitting in front of him.

_"Dark-skinned ? Look who is talking"_ Conan smirked for himself.

* * *

The Osakan, Agasa, Akai - disguise-free, Ai and him were in the professor's living room, getting the latest news about each other.

The ship case was behind both of them : Heiji had used the two remaining days on the boat to do his best to rest - predictably, with Kazuha around, he didn't really succeed - but it had been enough to get over his almost-drowning. As to Conan, well, he did enjoy his new relationship with Ran, making up for the previous weeks they didn't chat with each other and blushing a bit when they were too close or touching by accident, under Kazuha's suspicious eyes when they weren't laid on Heiji.

The four of them and Shinichi's parents arrived at the Kudô's house the previous evening and everyone stayed there for the night. The following morning, after Yukiko said the word "cleaning" twice in a row with a bit too much enthusiasm for them, the two teens escaped the house, on the pretext of saying hello to the professor.

At the bell, the old man opened the door with a smile and, brushing off their questions about the bandage he had around the head, he let them in.

* * *

"- What ?! Ya've been attacked by that dark-skinned guy ?" Heiji spurted to the three in front of him, as he asked what happened after noticing a bullet hole in the wall near the entrance so he asked what happened.

"- Yes." Akai answered, playing without thinking with the bandage just upon his right brow. "We got him under control, he's in one of our hospital, still out but he'll make it.

\- Leave that alone or I'll glue it to your face" Ai threatened when she saw him touching his recent wound.

"- Yes, ma'am..."

Both teens looked at each other, trying very hard not to laugh, remembering their last discussion about those two.

"- Anything funny in us almost being killed ? " The girl pointed with an arctic-cold glare.

"- No, of course, Haibara" Conan waved his hand in front of him in denegation. " By the way, did you learn anything interesting from him about the remaining members of the BO ?

\- Well, apparently it was him under the disguise with Vermouth back on the ship." The FBI agent stated. "And he over-heard us, so he discovered Shiho-san's and my identity.

\- What ?!" Both teens were taken aback by the level of information the blond-haired agent possessed, mostly due to the blunders of everyone in the room.

"- But according to what he said, he didn't tell anyone, SP or BO, about us.

\- That would explain why no one else came to break my door on the last two days" Agasa pointed.

" - But still, Amuro must really have had a leverage, how could he get such a high ranked member of the BO as Vermouth working for him without telling her anything ?" Conan asked, his hand holding his chin, deep in his thoughts.

"- We'll ask him when he'll wake up..." Akai shrugged. "I also have his phone but nothing interesting in there.

\- The content of the phone isn't interesting but..." The boy lifted his head and looked at all of them with a serious face. "The number... What if we infiltrated the BO thanks to it ?

\- Ya want ta text their Boss with it ?"Heiji guessed, a bit horrified by the small detective's plan.

"- Yes. And bait him."

* * *

**Two days earlier - a bit later**

* * *

"- I've got this" Heiji said as he was coming back from the kitchen , a toast in the hand, when the door's bell rang for the second time.

As he opened, an unfamiliar face came in and closed the door behind him.

"- Yo !

\- Uh... Oh, guess it's ya, Kuroba? How are ya doin'?

\- Great, great..." The Thief answered with a smile as he removed his disguise in a swift movement. "And you ? Heard you tried to drink and breath at the same time ? You shouldn't be in such a hurry, pal. " He turned to the four other persons in the room under Heiji's dark glare." Looks like I'm the last.. Hi guys !" He threw himself on the couch near Ai and gave her a rose he just popped out of nowhere "And good afternoon, my fair lady."

The girl took the flower with an amused look and smiled a "hello" to the Thief.

"- Looks like both your tongue and shoulders are better, " Saguru pointed from the opposite side of the table.

"- Yup, ready for action ! " He declared, slamming his left biceps with his other hand. He then gave a concerned look at his half-brit friend "Hope you also are ? How's that arm ?

\- I can manage but I think you should consider me as a second liner if anything happens.

\- Won' change much" the Osakan pointed as he sat back near Conan on the couch, getting another bite of his toast.

"- Some have muscles, some have brains, I'm just realistic enough to know where are my weaknesses... Unlike some.

\- Uh, guys ? " Conan stopped both of them as they were exchanging murderous looks. "Let's focus on the subject, ok ?

\- I don't think it's going to be easy, with that much testosterone in the room... " Ai commented, getting a bored look from all the boys.

"- Don't pour oil on the fire, Haibara..." the bespectacled detective advised.

"- So, I see you decided to keep a bit longer your first-grader features, Tantei-kun ?" Kaito asked, to change the subject and lighten the mood.

"- Yes, we decided to delay a bit me coming back to a high-school student.

\- Anything to do with us all being here ? " Saguru asked, trying to focus on the new conversation, breaking his eyes contact with Heiji.

"- We thought we could polish up with you the plan we worked on..." Akai explained to the teens.

"- The more brains, the merrier, eh ? Though, not being a detective, do you count me as a "brain" ?" The Kid asked maliciously to the boy.

"- Let's say you'll give some practical point of view to the bunch of detectives we are" Conan admitted with a smile.

"- An' we'll need an expert in disguises." Heiji winked at the Thief.

"- Count on the Great Kaitou Kid to help you will all those matters " Kaito answered with a small bow.

* * *

"- So, let's see if I understood correctly..." Saguru began, with his usual calm and slightly mocking tone. " You, Hattori-kun, will be disguised as their agent, Bourbon, with a chocker for the voice ?

\- Yup... he's about my size an', if we want ta keep the disguise at its minimum as they'll be suspicious as hell, someone with already tanned skinned is better.

\- And you, Kudô-kun, will pose as Sherry, their lost scientist ? And you will take the cure whenever you can ?

\- That's it" the boy nodded at the teen.

"- And the FBI will intervene, either if you spot the boss or, if he's not here, if you can't escape by your own means ? "

Akai also nodded.

"- This is crazy... Aren't you supposed to be from the FBI ? Why are you letting them doing things so risky ? Do your superiors agree with the fact you'll be sending teens in agents' stead ? " the blond-haired snapped.

"- Honestly ? I don't think we're able on our side to find so fast an agent not too tall and tanned enough to replace Hattori-kun. Not mentioning one who could play a child...

\- Couldn't we send Sherry as a grow up ? I already tricked them with that disguise." Kaito pointed with a serious look." After all, only Bourbon knows she was reduced. And this whole "changing in their hideout" plan doesn't sound good to me...

\- Nah, Vermouth also knows, we need to have a child as it's almost sure she'll be there. " Conan sighted, looking at the Thief." And it will add to the surprise when I'll grow up.

\- Speaking of that, aren't the changes painful ?" Saguru asked with a concerned look at the boy. "Won't the antidote be worse ? Will you even be able to move after you took it ?

\- The change shouldn't be any more painful than usual " the scientist answered with her almost adult voice. "And as he's in perfect shape, there shouldn't be any risk for him to faint.

\- As she says" Conan looked at the blond-haired. "And our infiltrated agent "Kir" will get me out of the cell I'll probably be locked in. She'll help from the inside if anything goes wrong.

\- You thought about everything, didn't you ? You have a crazy answer for each of my sane questions..." The half-brit detective sighted with a tense face. "One last... What about Hattori-kun's accent ?

\- He'll squeeze my leg and I'll use the voice changer we'll hid in the gag.

\- Ok I give up ! " Saguru softly laughed at them. " Where are we going ?

\- I thought you were against that plan ?" Kaito asked him.

"- I won't say no for a bit of challenge... And since we started this together, let's finish it together. "

They exchanged a smile and agreed to meet two days after, in a FBI hideout.

* * *

**One day earlier**

* * *

"- Conan-kun, aren't you forgetting your Yaiba pillow ?" Ran asked from Kogoro's room as Conan was in the bathroom, getting his toothbrush.

The following day, Conan was supposed to completely disappear so both of them were organizing his "trip back to America", by his parents. They were going to spend the night at Hakase's : they claimed Conan's mother was supposed to fetch him the following morning really early and Ran wanted to spend that last night with him. Everything was absolutely fake but they had to say something to Kogoro.

Even if Conan was really eager to go back to "Shinichi", it was still a bit disturbing for him to bury what had been his life for the last six months. Spending his whole days with Ran, helping Uncle in his cases, hanging around with the detective Boys... For the latter, he would write a few letters to them so they wouldn't be too sad, as Haibara also would grow back and the detective group would be quite reduced.

For Ran, well, he wouldn't be living with her anymore but he hoped they would spend enough time together the whole day to satisfy him once he'll be back to his body.

_"And later maybe…"_ he had thought with a blush.

"- It's ok, I won't need it...

\- Come on, I know you care about it..."

She laughed as she entered the bathroom and spotted Conan's bored look.

"- What will I do without my dear Conan-kun to entertain my days ? " She asked, looking fondly at him.

"- Oh, so you would prefer me to stay like that ? " He winked in a whisper not to be heard by Kogoro who was in the living room watching TV.

"- Of course not" She smiled at him. " But I'll miss looking after my "little brother".

\- Yea, I admit it'll be a bit strange for me too...

\- Let me hug you one last time !

\- I'm not some kind of teddy bear... " He changed his mind when he saw her disappointed face. "Ahhh, ok, come on, last of the last !". And he opened his arms.

* * *

**Ten hours earlier**

* * *

The following morning, the four boys, Ran and Ai gathered themselves in an FBI hideout, as planned with Akai. The man was there, with some agents, preparing for the incoming operation.

"- So, as usual, bulletproof jackets for everyone, guns for whoever feels able to and earplugs for communication." The FBI agent started. "And even for you, girls, even if you'll be hidden." He insisted, turning to both Ai and Ran. He then looked at Heiji and Conan. "I'm sorry, but for both of you, it'll be earplug and detective badges only. We can easily hide it but we can't risk you to be found with anything else."

They both nodded at him.

As Shinichi promised, he told Ran in the morning what the plan was. He was hoping it would frighten her a bit so she wouldn't ask to come but the girl had insisted in participating in any way she could. After a quick reflexion with Akai, they decided than she could be helpful with communications : no needs to explain why Conan's voice would turn in the middle of the mission from a boy's to a teen's and there wouldn't be any misunderstandings between those two. As to Ai, she had insisted to come, to the FBI agent's displeasure, as she felt she needed to see the fall of the Organization with her own eyes and still hoped to find information on her parents, above all since Amuro spoke of them to her. She would take the pill to grow up again after the morning's meeting.

"- If everything is clear..." Akai concluded, turning his head at Conan.

The boy grabbed Bourbon's phone in his hand, giving a serious look at all the faces around him.

"- Let's do it, then"

He took a long breath and dialled the Boss's mail address, "Nanatsu no ko".

_Saturday, 10:42 am_

"Retrieved Sherry. Was alive after all. Where to deliver ?"

BOURBON

A few minutes later, the phone vibrated and everyone turned at the small detective with interrogative looks.

"- "Meet at 8pm" and GPS coordinates." He stated. "Things are coming to an end tonight, guys."

* * *

**Back to current timeline**

* * *

As the door closed and the footsteps echoed away, Conan opened his eyes to check around him. He quickly got rid of the fake restraints he had on his hands and feet and took off the gag. He got the earplug he had hid under the wig to contact the FBI as planned.

"- Anyone ? " He whispered, hoping the cell wouldn't be too deep underground.

"- Shinichi ?" Conan recognized with a smile Ran's voice on the other side.

Just now, she was in an FBI van with Ai, not far away, but hidden and protected by several agents. Conan wasn't feeling completely safe with the idea of her being so close but, at least, she wouldn't be in the rescue team and that was for him a relief.

"- Everything's ok ?" She asked with concern.

"- Yea, we've infiltrated ourselves and, as we foresaw it, we've been separated. The Boss shouldn't be far : Gin told Hattori he'll meet him later tonight. So we better wait a bit before the FBI goes in.

\- I'll give them message. Do you know where you are ?

\- Third basement floor, I think we turned twice left and once right. I'm in a small cell with a metal door.

\- Ok, I'll tell Kir to fetch you there. Be careful in the meanwhile.

\- Sure. And Ran ?

\- Yes ?

\- Will be good to hear your voice during that mission" He said, with a grateful smile.

"- ... Good luck, Shinichi."

* * *

Getting to his feet, he walked to sit on the bed in the back of the cell. He had the pill with him but preferred to wait for Rena, aka Kir, who was supposed to bring him some clothes, so she wouldn't find him naked... The change wasn't that long after all, he confirmed it when Ai transformed a few hours ago.

After a few minutes, he heard some footsteps coming closer to his cell

_"Already ?"_ He wondered, raising a brow.

Without any effort to be quiet, someone unlocked the door and opened it. Dazzled at first by the light from the corridor as his cell had no lights, it took him a few seconds to identify the one who just entered.

"- Vermouth ?!

\- That was stupid of you to come here, Cool Guy" She stated, as she closed the door behind her. "Don't give me that surprised look... You aren't curling yourself up and shaking in a corner of that cell with wide eyes, I can tell you're not Sherry. So just one possibility left.

\- Touché" Conan answered with an insolent smile, removing his mask. "So, what will you do ? Tell your Boss ?

\- Well, we already knew we'll have at least one imposter tonight so he won't be surprised to hear they were two...

\- What do you mean ?" The boy asked, all colours leaving his face.

"- I'm saying your plan failed even before it started. I knew something happened to the true Bourbon.

\- How ?!

\- He had made some arrangements... " She sighted, apparently annoyed by that fact. "If he didn't report regularly, the secret he accidently discovered on me... would be leaked to the rest of the Organization.

\- That's the leverage he used on you for all his missions... ? Was is about your real age ? "

They fought each other with the eyes and Vermouth gave up, knowing that, anyway, with what he learnt about her with his mother and with what he was going to find out with Bourbon or any other BO's member they would arrest tonight, there wouldn't be anything left to hide anymore on the subject.

"- ...Yes for both questions. He saw me back in that orphanage he was in and recognized me when he entered the BO... The information arrived yesterday. Due to that damn guy, I'll have to hide once again from everyone. Even had to stop an idiot last evening who wanted to stick a knife between my shoulder blades "just to see". " She spitted with disgust on her face.

"- Unluckily he didn't succeed... What have you done with Hattori ?

\- He's the one under the disguise ? Vodka and Gin are looking after him. I don't think they'll kill him yet but they're not really .. gifted as babysitters.

\- And now what ? " The boy asked, trying to restrain his anger, clenching his fists as he knew his best friend, even if he wasn't dead, was in danger. "Did you come here just to brag ?!

\- I was just supposed to confirm if you were Sherry or not. I have my answer and will bring it to _That person_." Vermouth looked at Conan in his eyes. " All the Organization's members left are here tonight. Even _I_ don't know the odds but this is surely our last fight, Silver-bullet-kun. Good luck"

And she left, letting the door unlocked.

Removing his wig with rage, Conan touched his earplug.

"- Ran ? We have a problem.

\- I'm listening. And James-san is behind me.

\- I'll explain everything later but they knew we were coming." The boy heard Ran's horror gasp in the device but continued. "Half bad news, half good news : everyone remaining from the Organization is here tonight. We need a rescue team now, I'm safe but Hattori is in trouble.

\- OK, we are on it."

After ending the conversation, Conan took his head in his hands, angry at his own lack of forethought.

"_Ok, no more waiting, time to change back_" he thought as he raised his head with a determined look.


	22. BO's Arc - Chapter 22 - Interlude

**Hiya !**

**Let's get a bit further in that last arc today ! :3**

**Warning, KazuHei in there xD (last flashback, I promise ^^; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**EmYasmina : haha, have a little patience, I said we'll be having quite a few cliffs for that last arc ; )**

**guest : here you are ; )**

* * *

**Chapter 22 : Interlude**

* * *

"- Hey, he's that kid I saw during that costume party !" Vodka recognized the teen. " The one who disguised himself as Kudô Shinichi."

_" Crap, couldn' that brute have less memory ?"_ Heiji swore for himself. _" How does he even can think when he looks so thick..."_

"- Kudô Shinichi ? That name does appear pretty often nowadays... " Gin stated, looking at the detective. " Oh, look at what we got here" He smirked after something caught his look in the Osakan's hair.

He took off the communication device which was previously hidden under the wig before Gin pulled it off and brought it to the light to examine it.

"- This design is... FBI ? So you're FBI since the beginning ?" He asked with a surprised look at the teen. "Do they hire the agents in kindergarten now ?

\- And ya ? Ar' all the BO members comin' from an asylum ?" Heiji bragged back with a provocative smirk.

The smirk quickly disappeared to be replaced by a pained grimace when he felt his eyebrow's arch split open under the punch Gin violently threw in the face.

"- Since when... rats talk... back ?!" The long-haired man asked, giving rhythm to his words with a few other hits. "And how do you copy that self-declared detective idiot's voice so well ? "

As he grabbed Heiji's turtle-necked pullover and raised his hand to punch him again, Gin noticed there was something around the teen's neck. He took out his knife and roughly cut in half the dark green cloth, grazing the Osakan's collarbone with the blade at the same time.

"- Another gadget... How does that work ? " He wondered, as he spot the choker and removed unceremoniously it from Heiji's neck. "Tell me !" He added as he ignored him.

"- Ya wish" The teen answered in an insolent tone, with his own voice now.

"- You know, funny ones like you don't last long in this world..." the long-haired started with a threatening face, pulling the detective's hair to make him look at him. "You'll see, you'll help us."

He put Heiji's earplug in his own ear and switched it on.

"- To the FBI agents who sent the child I have in front of me in here, I just wanted to warn you..."

"- Hit him" he ordered to Vodka with an evil smile, as he put back the plug in the teen's ear.

The man gave a full force punch to the Osakan's stomach but he only gave a faint grunt, using all the pride he had not to make a sound to ruin Gin's demonstration.

_"The fuck I'm goin' ta help ya"_ Heiji thought, clenching his jaw, as, seeing he was resisting, Vodka tried to give a few more hits. _"I won' let ya hurt them... Kudô, Nee-chan... Kazuha..."_

Kazuha... He had a faint smile when he remembered the previous night and their latest fight.

* * *

**One day earlier - The evening**

* * *

After his half- drowning on the boat, Heiji pretty much pretended being asleep each time Kazuha was trying to visit him and did his best since they came back to Tokyo not to be alone with her.

Lying on a futon on the floor of his best friend's room, Conan peacefully sleeping in the bed on his side, he crossed his arms under his head and tried to think about her... about both of them.

He had done his best to keep a statu quo since she declared to him but he understood well it was coming to an end. The present situation was clearly hurting her, he could tell it form the watery eyes she gave him since they were back and he couldn't stand the idea him being responsible for her suffering.

He rolled on his side with a sigh, remembering how she tried to make him talk about their plans, as she noticed something was going on, with the boys spending their days by Agasa.

Today had been particularly harsh, Ran had tried to calm her down but it was clear she knew something so Kazuha could stand even less being out of it. She had sulked in her room most of the evening, refusing to eat.

Heiji took a deep breath and sent her a text, knowing she probably wouldn't be sleeping even with the late hour.

_Friday, 11:52 pm_

"Meet me in the library"

HEIJI

He silently got up, grabbing a shirt and trousers, and dressed up, trying to be as quiet as possible. Conan turned with a grumble in his bed but didn't wake up.

He went down the stairs and walked through the hallway towards the library, going in the moonlight bathed room, thinking with a small smile it was far away enough of the rooms so no one would hear if their discussion ended in a fight. He lifted his head, once again impressed with the whole room filled with books, but with a writer in the house, it wasn't so surprising after all…

His daydream was stopped when he heard the door discreetly opening and closing behind him and he turned his head in that direction, knowing he would see Kazuha.

The girl was in a light-pink night-dress, her skin looking almost translucent under the white light of the moon. She had cried, Heiji could see it, as her eyes were a bit red but she was still the most beautiful girl to him.

"- I didn' wake ya? " He asked, coming to her.

"- Nah, wasn' sleepin'… " She softly answered and then her face darkened "So ? Not tryin' ta avoid me anymore ?

\- I wasn'…

\- Ya've never treated me as if I was stupid, Heiji, don' start now." She interrupted him as her eyes were beginning to be watery. " Ya know, it would have been easier ta me if ya told me since the beginnn' ya didn' want me ta stay around ya…

\- Kazuha, ya know it's not…

\- I know nothin' ! Ya all kept me away from everthin' since we came back… Do I look so useless ta ya?!" her cheeks reddened with anger.

"- Kazuha…" he tried to touch her shoulder.

"- Don' touch me !" She moved away with tears in the eyes. " I don' want o' yer pity, I…"

Heiji grabbed her arm and drew the girl to him to silence her with a kiss on her soft lips.

"- … What are ya…" she pushed him away, blushing furiously. "Ahou !

\- What ? It's not what ya wanted ? Ahou yerself!" The detective let her am go, his cheeks also slightly red.

"- What "I wanted" ? Don' tell me ya just kissed me 'coz "I wanted it" ?!" Kazuha turned angry once again.

"- Of course not, I…

\- … Ya ? "

Drowning himself in her green eyes tainted with anger, Heiji had a small smile as he, at last, accepted his own feelings.

"- I kissed ya coz... I love ya…" He admitted, blushing and rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment, looking away. "Don' make me repeat it…

\- Ya… " The girl immediately calmed down and gave him a hopeful look. " Ya really really do ?

\- O' course, Ahou" he said with a smile, grabbing the Osakian in a hug. "I really really do." He added in her ear.

As he moved away to look at her again, he saw she was closing her eyes, her light face with small touches of pink on her cheeks turned at him. Gently pushing back a strand of her hair that was on her face, Heiji bent with a jolt in his stomach to take once again the lips of the girl he loved.

* * *

"- Breakfast time, lovebirds !" Conan smirked as he came into the library and spotted both teens the following morning.

Jumping from the armchair he was sitting on, Heiji showed a surprised and unawake face to the boy. Feeling heavy, he looked at himself and noticed Kazuha was cuddled against his shoulder, a blanket covering her, still soundly asleep.

"- Oh…" He remembered the previous night with a dumb smile.

"- Well done, pal !" The boy whispered with his thumb up.

"- Yea… " Heiji answered with a grin. "Noted fer breakfast, we're on our way.

\- Ok ! " Conan nodded with a smile of complicity, closing the door behind him as he left.

"- Kazuha ? Wake up…" He gently stroked her cheek.

"- Uh... Heiji ? " The girl rubbed her eyes, still in her dreams. She noticed with surprise she was lying on him and jumped down the armchair on her feet, a bit ashamed. " Uh sorry, I didn'…

\- Sorry fer what ? It's not as if I didn' allow ya ta use me as a pillow" The Osakan smiled at her, also getting up.

She looked at him with bewildered eyes.

"- Ahh, wake up, ya Ahou" he told her, giving a small pinch on her forehead. "We need ta go an' get some breakfast, else I'll be late fer my meetin'…

\- So last night… " She blushed a bit.

"- I finally stopped runnin' away." He admitted, still a bit embarrassed of his own cowardice on this specific matter. "Can we go now ?

\- Heiji, just… Just one thing." She dared to ask." I need ta know, tell me what's going on. Ran-chan, Conan-kun, the whole thing ya're preparin'...

\- I can' give ya the truth right now" Heiji sighted with a sad look as he saw her disappointment. "But I promise I'll explain ta ya the most I can soon, things should settle before long.

\- Can' I come with ya ?" she asked with a pleading face. "Even Ran-chan is…

\- Kudô has his own problems, it's his decision ta take her with him. As ta me, I can' have ya in there. I won' be able ta focus if ya're around…

\- Ya're saying I'm disturbing ya… " she gave him a hurt look.

"- Yea, ya do." He looked straight into her eyes, putting a gentle hand on her cheek. " I'll be too worried… I don' want ya ta be hurt…

\- Dangerous things, once again, eh ?" she sighted with a worried face.

"- Yes, I won' hide it ta ya. But it should be the last time. " Heiji hoped with a determined look.

He closed his eyes and bent...

* * *

**Back to current timeline**

* * *

"- Hold him " The long haired man ordered, noticing with anger the teen had a faint smile on his face.

Heiji was taken out of his daydream as he felt Vodka's big hands on each of his sides and gave a defiant look at Gin.

"-Try to restrain that one" The man in black smirked, sending at full strength his left hand in the teen's chest.

Heiji's pained cry echoed through everyone's earplug.

"- I hope you enjoyed this little demonstration. This is what will happen to all the rats you'll send to us." Gin threatened, talking again in the earplug he took back from the teen who was gasping for air in front of him.

Then he crushed it.

* * *

Panting, Shinichi felt the acute pain in his chest going away as he was now back to his high school student's size. It had been hard to refrain from shouting during the change but he managed it and if Ai really succeeded in creating the antidote, he was thinking with relief it would be his last.

Hearing some footsteps, he rolled himself in the bed's cell's rough blanket and hid near the door, ready to punch whoever was coming.

"- Conan-kun?" A female voice asked as she carefully came in, a gun with a silencer in the hands.

"- I'm here" He surprised her, going out of the corner he was hidden in.

Letting down her gun, she turned to him a bit bewildered, as he was back to his 17 years old features.

"- Are those the clothes for me ?" He asked with a smile as he saw she was a bit uneasy. "Heh, black ?" he criticized as he came nearer.

"- We are the men in black, do you remember ?" She joked, getting a bit more comfortable. "Everything is black here, equipment included, Conan-kun... no, uh.. what should I call you now ?

\- Shinichi is fine.

\- Ok, then Shinichi-kun, here are your clothes and shoes, I'll be watching the hallway when you dress up.

\- Thanks."

* * *

"- I'm ready" Shinichi stated as he was now fully dressed and was putting back his earplug.

"- Let's move, then" Kir said, turning to him. She understood something was wrong when she saw the teen's face becoming an horror-struck one. "What's happening ? " She asked with a concerned voice.

"- Gin, he has Hattori and..." He answered after a while, unable to admit he was probably hearing his best friend being beaten.

Shinichi's face definitively turned white as he heard Heiji's pained cry.

"- We need to go there !" He put the radar glasses on his nose and rushed out of his cell.

"- Wait, Shinichi-kun, we need to be cautious there may be..."Kir tried to stop the teen but he didn't listen. "Crap..."

She ran after him in the hallways.

* * *

The old man guarding the entrance saw, for the second time tonight, the same face heading to him.

"- Hey, you !" Amuro started, visibly in pain, holding his arm against him. "There's an imposter in there ! He took my face, he's an enemy !

\- We are aware of it, he already has been secured.

\- That's a relief" the blond haired sighted. "I'm so much going to kick his... Take me to him, I've some matters to settle with that damn spy !"

The old man bowed and opened the door, letting Amuro go in. He led him to the hidden elevator and called it.

"- He's on the third basement floor, turn twice right.

\- Thanks, Jii-san !" Amuro's face, previously distorted by pain, was now smirking in a puff of smoke.

He gently put the sleeping man on the floor and got rid of his disguise, letting a white tuxedo and a malicious teen's face appear.

"- All clear guys, you can come" Kaito stated through his earplug.

* * *

"- You couldn't find anything less gaudy in your wardrobe ?" Saguru gave an unimpressed look at the Thief as he spotted him.

"- Come on, it's my working suit, I don't feel at ease if I'm not wearing it ! And where would I hide all my gadgets ?" He smiled at him.

The half-brit shook his head, depressed at the other teen's craziness. It would have been safer for his friend to stay as 'Kuroba' during this mission to protect his secret if anything happened but, no, the teen had discreetly switched from Kaito to Kaitou and introduced himself as the Kid as he came back with his Amuro disguise on the face... Saguru opened his mouth for another round of unkind remarks but stopped midway when they both froze and looked at each other as Gin started to speak in their earplugs.

"- Shit..." They heard Akai worry when he met them, with Jodie, Camel and the rest of the team.

Jodie put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her horrified gasp when she heard Heiji's cry.

"- That fucking son of a ... " Kaito started to swear in a way that could have challenged Aoko's father's rich vocabulary for insults. "What are we waiting for ?!" He snapped, turning to the agents.

Hakuba put a soothing hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down but he was also as white as a sheet.

"- Ok, this is where we split in two teams, " The FBI agent explained with a serious face, looking at the men around him. " Camel, come with me and the teens, we'll look for Hattori-kun. Jodie, go with the others on the 2nd basement floor and neutralize as much of them as you can... As you just heard, we're dealing with psychos here : they are heavily armed and will not hesitate to shot on sight. I want everyone of you to be careful : those men are desperate, they are capable of everything. Let's finish this." He concluded, as the elevator arrived, ready to bring Heiji's rescue team to the third basement floor.

* * *

**If you want to picture the KazuHei scene, just watch the end of the OAV 9 ; )**


	23. BO's Arc - Chapter 23 - Hunt underground

**Hiya for the chapter of the day ! : )**

**Nothing much to say for that one.. the fight goes on ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Reader : Thank you : ) And yea, I promise, there'll be some damage to the BO ; ) Can't say about our heroes though :p See you next chapter !**

**Ctopher : No worries, I kept some for the others :p**

* * *

**Chapter 23 : Hunt underground**

* * *

"- Boss, he's not responding anymore..." Vodka stated, a bit bored, as he pulled Heiji's hair to see his bruised face.

"- Tsk, filth, these days. Stay here, I need to check if Vermouth did her part. "

He went out and walked to go back to the kid's cell but stopped after a few meters, giving a suspicious look in the corridor on his right and, as he didn't spot anything, continued his way.

* * *

"- Thanks" Shinichi sighted in a dark corner of the right hallway they were in, the one Gin just checked.

"- I told you not to be in such a hurry... Lucky we could turn that way before he came out of the cell" Kir said with relief. "And before you rushed out, I also wanted to give you that, I think you know how to use it ?" She asked, giving him a gun. "Ok, Gin should be gone by now, I think we can go."

Weapon in the hand, she gave a quick glimpse to each side and gestured an ok to Shinichi, who was also having his gun ready.

"- The cell's door is opened... Better to rush there, ok? But stay behind me..."

The teen nodded his agreement to the CIA agent and she started to count to 3. At zero, they both ran to the door, Kir first and, as she spotted Vodka, her weapon gave a faint plop and the man fell on the floor, a surprised look still on his face.

Seeing the man was neutralized, Shinichi pocketed his gun and came quickly into the cell to check on his friend.

"- Hattori ? " He called softly as he was approaching, noticing with a sad look a bloody cut above the teen's brow. "Heiji ?! " He asked again as the Osakan wasn't responding, worrying when he spotted a nasty bruise on the right side of his torso through what was remaining of the tanned detective's pullover.

"- How is he ?" Kir asked with a concerned look at both of them, seeing Kudô had two of his fingers against the detective's neck, looking for a pulse.

"- He's alive…" Shinichi stated with relief as he felt one and saw his friend's chest going up and down, with each of his irregular but existing breathings. "When will you stop putting yourself in such a mess... Kazuha is so going to kill you if she sees you like that… "He gently scolded with a low voice. "Could you check if there isn't the restraints' key on Vodka ?" he said as he noticed with anger the teen's wrists were hurt by the cuffs as they were supporting the West detective's full weight.

The CIA Agent turned to the BO's agent and her eyes widened with fear as she noticed he was awake and his gun pointing at them.

"- Watch out !" she had the time to shout, as she put herself between Vodka and the teens.

Shinichi turned his head as Kir landed on the floor with a painful moan and noticed the man was now aiming at him with a grin.

The grin disappeared as the man in black saw his weapon jumping out of his hand, hit by a playing card. Before he could even react, Akai rushed into the cell and knocked him out properly with a punch.

"- Are you alright ?" He asked to the both of them, a bit panting of his run to the cell as he heard the gunshot, heading to the woman on the ground.

"- Just how did he... I put a damn bullet in his chest ! " she wondered with a pained voice, holding her hurt shoulder against her as Akai helped her in a sitting position.

"- Well, he seems pretty out now" Kaito stated as he bent to him. " Still, being able to move with a wound like this...

\- Kuroba, has he any key on him ?" Shinichi asked as he turned back to Heiji.

The Thief looked in his way, his mood darkening as he saw his Osakan friend's condition.

"- Who needs keys when a magician is in the place ? Hakuba, lend us a hand, you'd better be two to support him.

\- Someone should be watching at the door, Gin may come back" Kir pointed with a worried look outside as Saguru came in, while Akai was looking at her shoulder.

"- I'll do it." Camel volunteered, taking his gun out.

Heiji gave a grunt as Kaito freed him from the cuffs, releasing the pressure on his wrists and shoulders. As his legs gave under him, Hakuba and Shinichi helped the teen lie down on the floor.

"- Hattori ?" The East detective asked, as the half-brit was checking on his wounds.

"- ... Kudô ?" He faintly answered with a pained grimace.

"- Welcome back among us" Kaito smiled as he saw the teen open his eyes.

"- Thanks... Hey, what are ya doin' ?!"he jumped with pain as he felt Saguru's hand on his torso.

"- I'm checking if you have anything broken" the blond-haired explained with a sigh. "Please don't imagine anything else...

\- Oh, this is starting to be hot in there... "The Thief smirked at both of them.

"- Shut up..." the Osakan blushed at what the Kid was implying. "I've got a girlfriend now...

\- Do you ? " he laughed back.

"- Yea, he at last accepted his own feelings..." Shinichi gave a look of complicity at Kaito.

"- Ya stupid... ouch ! " He gave a murderous look at Saguru.

"- Easy, boy... The good news is that you don't seem to have anything broken but that bruise doesn't look good, you maybe have a few bruised ribs. And you should get that eyebrow's arch stitched" The half brit pointed at the bloody side of his face.

"- Courtesy o' that that guy's friend..." The Osakan tried to sit down as he glared at Vodka on the floor. "Help me get up, I won' lie in there the whole day, I think we have other things ta do..." He asked, annoyed by the pain that simple move induced and by the embarrass to see he wasn't able to get up alone.

"- Yea, we have to move from here..." Shinichi agreed. He gave a look on his left side "Rena-san, how are you ?

\- I stopped the bleeding but she won't be able to use that arm" Akai stated as he got on his feet. "Let's get everyone out, I need to look for my men after, we have some bad guys to catch... Camel, come and help me with..."

Akai never finished his sentence as he saw the agent's surprised face turning at him and falling as he heard a gunshot.

"- Camel !"

He rushed at the door, getting his gun out, his stomach revolting as he saw his comrade had been head shot.

"- Oh, so he was a friend of yours, Akai Shuichi ?" Gin smirked, a fuming weapon in the hand in the other side of the corridor.

"- You fucking..." The agent raised his hand and gave a few shots towards the man who hid in a corner with a laugh.

"- That's all you can do, FBI dog ?!

\- All of you, get back to the van, I'm going after him" the green-eyed agent ordered as he went out of the cell with an angry look on his face.

* * *

Saguru was the first to get up and approached the FBI agent on the floor, shaking his head with a pained look at his friends as he saw nothing could be done for Camel any more. The group's faces darkened.

"- Let's get away from here, we need to have you two tended" he concluded.

Kaito and Shinichi carefully helped Heiji to stand up, one on each side. The teen winced a bit and was feeling light-headed but he succeeded in getting up, thought he needed their support to stay on his feet.

Saguru also reached his hand out to Rena so she could get up and gave an interrogative look at his other friends.

"-To the van then ?

\- One sec' " Shinichi asked, touching his earplug. "I need to give Ran an update. Ran ?

\- I'm here, Shinichi. Everyone's ok ?

\- We retrieved Hattori but he and Rena-san are hurt, thought it's not life-threatening. And Camel-san has been killed by Gin, Akai is after him" The teen added with a sad look

"- ... Bad news " she concluded after a pause.

"- Everything ok on your side ?

\- No problem here, it's just Shiho-chan and me in the van at the moment, the other agents went into the house, but we aren't in danger.

\- I still don't like the idea of you being alone... Well, we're heading to you, stay tuned." Shinichi nodded at his friends and took a better grip on Heiji."Let's go now"

* * *

Vermouth gave a smile as she heard the previous conversation through the earplug stolen to a FBI agent she knocked out while he guarding the elevator on the first floor.

" _I see you Sherry...__Let's settle this ." _She told for herself with a determined look, ignoring the previous promise she did with "Silver-bullet-kun" and putting some C4 on the elevator's door. Now was probably her last chance to get at the former Organization's scientist and she wasn't going to let it pass.

* * *

"- Kudô-kun, are you here ?

\- Yes, Jodie-san " The teen answered to the female voice coming from his earplug, lifting a hand to ask the others to stop.

"- I just wanted to tell you the elevator isn't working any more, there was an explosion...

\- Are you ok ?

\- Yea... And we pretty much cleaned the 2nd basement floor. So we just have to find another way out, if there's one.

\- Let me ask." The dark-haired turned to Kir, who still needed Saguru's help to stand. "Any idea, Rena-san ?

\- They should try the door at the left of the small lab in front of the elevator. There's a stair hidden in the room, it's the shortest way out, it leads back into the house.

\- Thanks. "

He repeated the message to Jodie, hoping everything would be alright.

"- One last thing, Kudô-kun. We didn't find their Boss and a few important agents are also still missing. Be careful.

\- Ok. See you outside."

"- Any emergency escape we could use on the third basement floor ?" Shinichi asked with an interrogative look to the CIA agent.

"- It's a bit more complicated than second floor... There's only one way, we'll end lower, outside of the mountain.

\- Better then , we'll be able to go faster to the van" Kaito pointed.

"- Let's hope we won't go across too many people…" Kudô worried, taking his gun out.

"- This floor is destined to cells only and, with the actual mess in the Organization, there is no one… We only could meet some late fugitives. Hakuba-kun, you should also take your gun.

\- Ok. "

They silently resumed their walk, Saguru and Kir in front and Heiji, Kaito and Shinichi behind. The whole pack was moving slowly, to put the less stress possible on their wounded.

After 15 minutes of turning and travelling through dark hallways, they at last started to spot some moonlight.

"- Here we are ! " Kir gave a faint smile, her face looking even whiter than it already was in the clear light of the moon.

"- At last ... " Heiji sighted, really eager to grab one or two pills of ibuprofen for his head.

A silver glimmer caught the Thief eye.

"- Watch out !" He shouted, pushing Shinichi and the Osakan against the wall just before a gunshot was heard.

Taking his card gun out, he jumped towards the exit, relying on his speed to surprise their assailants. On the other side, Saguru also let Rena lean on a wall and tightened his grip on his gun. When he arrived, the Kid already neutralized two men, his cloak twirling around as he was avoiding bullets in flashes of white thanks to the full moon's light.

" - On your left ! " Hakuba warned as he aimed for a third man.

Kaito easily avoid the bullet while the blond-haired shot the man who fell with a grunt. A last man raised his gun at them but, at his own bewilderment, found himself diving to the floor, a bullet in the back.

"- Everything alright, guys ?" Akai enquired, holstering back his weapon.

"- Yea, thanks " Kaito gave him a side smile. " And you ?" He added, when he noticed the man seemed hurt, with a bruise on the left cheek and limping with difficulties to meet them.

"- I will manage... that damn Gin... " Anger passed through the FBI agent's face.

"- Did you got him ?" Shinichi asked as he came out of the centre, supporting Heiji.

"- We exchanged a few hits but he lost me in those damns alleyway...

\- Still good news ya're alright" The Osakan pointed with a chill, knowing what the long haired man was able to do.

Kir was the last one to go out, still holding her shoulder and clearly in need of some rest.

"- I think we should split here " The East detective started, looking at everyone. "Jodie-san told me the Boss still was to be found and he has to be in here. I need to look for him or this whole fight has no meaning anymore... It's less dangerous now we're out, I think you all can manage to the van without difficulties...

\- It's still dangerous in there, let me come ! " Heiji interrupted, removing his arms from his friend's shoulder to face him, his concerned eyes in his azure ones.

"- Look at you, no offenses there but I don't think you can be of any help " Saguru objected as the teen winced with pain since he hadn't any support for his bruised ribs anymore.

"- Yea, sorry pal, but you'll be more of a burden in there" Kaito added, patting the dark-skinned teen's shoulder. " I'll go with him. Will be safer.

\- We let you in charge of the others, then, Akai ? " Shinichi enquired after a nod of agreement at the Thief.

"- No problem. We'll meet you at the van, be careful."

* * *

"- You know, I really never pictured you with a gun in the hand, Kudô..." Kaito stated, a disgusted look at the weapon, as they were walking once again into the Organization's hideout.

"- I didn't like the idea either but with my line of hobbies… So I learned how to shoot with my father in Hawaii. I had to know how not to kill anyone.

\- Or you could have asked your Hakase for a card gun like mine " the Thief smiled with a proud look.

"- I wasn't really into his gadgets until I shrank, you know... Hush, I hear something" Shinichi froze as he heard a grunt.

"- Shouldn't we be the only ones on the third basement floor ? With the broken elevator... " Kaito whispered with an interrogative look at his friend.

"- Gin could be remaining..."

The detective stopped in front of a cell, where the grunting was coming from. Trying to look into the small barred opening on the door, he spotted, thanks to the light in the hallway, a panting black haired man.

"- Kuroba, open that door, now ! " he ordered, filled with an unbearable doubt.

The Kid nodded with surprise and obeyed, getting his tools out while Shinichi was positioning with his gun against him on the side of the door.

A few second were enough for the Thief to crack such an easy mechanism. Putting his hand on the handle, he turned to the detective, waiting for a sign to open it. Kudô placed himself in front of the door, ready to shoot and gave a nod to the teen who slammed the door open, letting the detective rush into the cell, looking with the eyes for any other man inside apart the one on the floor. This one didn't really move at their sight and, once it was clear there was no danger, the Kid rushed at the man as he recognized it, a worried look on his face.

"- Akai-san ?! " He tried to wake him up, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned to the detective with a white face. "Kudô, it's him..."

Shinichi gave him a bewildered look and approached to check on the man. The FBI agent had been hit on the head and presented the same wounds than when they met him outside : a bruised cheek and a bullet in the leg.

"- Oy Oy, then who is with the others?" He turned to Kaito as the answer crossed his mind. "Vermouth?! She must have knocked him out to take his place and waited for us outside after destroying the elevator...

\- Didn't she want to kill your scientist-neechan ?" The Thief gave him a worried look.

"- Crap... She swore to me she wouldn't touch her but now that everything's over..."

The teen switched his earplug on, his face also showing worry.

"- Ran ? Ran ?! Please answer me...

\- I'll get Akai-san out" The Kid volunteered when he heard there wasn't any response to his friend. "You go back to the van, if she's as gifted as you said, she would have easily neutralized the others, seeing how wounded they were...

\- Thank you. Take care of him, I'll see you at the van but you'd better come back as Kuroba to avoid Ran's suspicion..."

The Thief nodded and they exchanged a look, wishing good luck to each other without needing even a single word, and Shinichi left.


	24. Bo's arc -Chapter 24- Last pursuit

**Hi guys ! **

**Just a few chapters left for this fic, so... things will be starting to be dangerous for everyone ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Thanks : ) Well, the boss is... in this chapter xD**

**EmYasmina : haha sorry, I said canon pairings only :p**

* * *

**Chapter 24 : Last pursuit**

* * *

"- Here they are" Ran smiled as she spotted the boys thanks to the infrared surveillance cameras of the van.

"- Looks like Kudô-kun and Kuroba-kun are missing..." Shiho noticed with a frown. "And what is Akai-san doing...?!"

Saguru was supporting Heiji and was glad to see at last the van glimmering in the moonlight : he wasn't really a sportive one and the Osakan wasn't the light type so this little walk finished to drain him. Just behind him, Akai was helping Rena, half supporting her, half carrying her as she looked she was about to faint.

After a few more steps, the blond-haired heard a moan and turned to check what was happening. He was struck with horror when he saw Kir was lying unconscious at the FBI agent's feet, apparently knocked out with a hit of the cross of the gun the man had in his hand.

Akai quickly grabbed Heiji's shoulder and, with a punch to his wounded ribs, threw him to the ground, curling on himself and gasping for air. Habuka, destabilized by his friend's fall, didn't find enough time to react when the man finally wrapped his left arm around his throat, not enough to strangle him but clearly enough to prevent him from struggling.

"- Sherry, I know you're here, get out" A female voice called just near the blond-haired detective's ear.

"- Hey, you're not Akai-san ! " the half brit noted with surprise as he tried to turn to her but couldn't have her release her grip.

"- You took quite your time to notice it" she smirked as she removed her wig, her blond hair almost shining with the full moon as she released them. "So, who do you want me to kill first, Sherry ?" The woman asked, raising her gun again and putting it on Saguru's temple, finger on the trigger.

Inside, Shiho was paling at the scene. This voice, of course she recognized it, even with the disguise, and her fear was confirmed by the long blond hair... Vermouth ! As afraid as the girl was, she just couldn't wait and witness the three persons outside to be killed one after the other. Getting the gun she had been given at the beginning of the operation out, she headed to the door.

"- You stay there" she ordered Ran with a serious look.

"- Interesting, I thought I would have to kill one or two to get you out of the van" The BO member smiled as the girl opened the door, pointing her weapon at her, her arm shaking.

In a flash, the woman knocked Saguru out with her gun, sending him in Heiji's direction on the ground, and shoot Shiho's weapon out of her hand. The scientist had a pained cry, holding her palm, and gave a challenging look at the blond-haired when she approached her.

"-Shiho-chan, you're the only one who can't... " Vermouth started with an almost sad look as she cocked her gun's trigger. "I won't take the risk you to continue _his_ researches..." She added, strengthening her grip on the cross.

"- No !" Ran jumped out of the van and threw herself in front of the teen, taking her in her arms, presenting her back to the woman.

"- Mouri-san !" Shiho shouted as they both fell on the ground, the long-haired on her, moaning with pain, holding her bloody thigh.

Vermouth raised her weapon once again to give the final blow to the former BO's member but Ran noticed it and she did her best despite her wound to put herself between Shiho and the blond-haired.

"- Leave her alone !" The dark haired ordered, looking straight into the woman's eyes, her arms wide open in a protective stance.

"- Angel... " The female agent started, lowering her weapon. " I don't want to have to hurt you.

\- And I don't want you to hurt Shiho-chan ... Go away ! "

Vermouth was still hesitating when a bullet hit the floor near her feet. Turning her head to see where it was coming from, she noticed the Osakan on the ground was now looking at her, the canon of the gun in his hand now pointed at her head.

"- This was just a warning" he stated, a determined look on his face. "Next time I won't miss.

\- Tsk..." She definitively lowered her weapon and gave a last look at Shiho. " Your bodyguards won't save you all the time... Sooner or later, I'll find you."

And she ran away towards the mountain.

* * *

Heiji let his arm down with a sigh of relief and lied on his stomach again with a pained grimace. With his free hand, he contorted himself to grab Saguru's shoulder and tried to wake the teen who fell partly on him when Vermouth knocked him out.

"- Oy, Hakuba ? Don' take a nap now, ya lazy head. Ya're heavy, ya know..."

He had a smirk and lowered his voice.

"- I heard the blond hair'd half british detectives all hav' a ...

\- Finish that sentence and I will have to resort to brute strength.

\- ... really bad character when they wake up ?" Heiji finished with a smile as he saw his friend opening his eyes. "Hey ! Don' hit me wen ya're usin' me as a pillow !" He took a fake pained look as the half-brit carried his threat by touching him with his fist for laugh.

"- Uh, sorry " Saguru quickly moved away from the Osakan and sat, a shadow of worry on his usual straight face. "Did I hurt you ?

\- No worries" he commented, rolling on his back now that he was free of the blond-haired teen's weight. "Here, yer weapon, I had ta borrow it ta ya as ya weren' exactly able ta use it..." The dark-skinned detective gave back his weapon to his friend who was checking his own head with the hand, feeling the throb of an incoming bump .

"- What happened ? " he asked, getting up and pocketing his gun. "Who was that woman ? That disguise was just so...

\- Vermouth. I think we already mentioned her." Heiji also tried to get up on his own but decided to swallow his pride. "Could ya.. ?

\- Sure" Saguru stretched his hand to the Osakan and helped him on his feet.

"- Thanks. Go check Mizunashi-san, I'm goin' ta the girls."

* * *

"- Are ya both alright ?" the dark skinned teen enquired when he approached Shiho and Ran who were sitting on the ground, the scientist looking at the other girl's wound while keeping her own hurt hand against her.

"- Yea, thanks to you..." The auburn-haired answered with gratitude, lifting her head to him. As she saw the bruises and dried blood on the Osakan's face, she remembered the previous events. "And you ?

\- Looks worse than it is." He shrugged.

"- That's reassuring" Ran had a faint smile. "Because it does look bad, Hattori-kun... Where's Shinichi ?

\- Said he was goin' ta look fer the Boss. " He explained and saw the girl's eyes filling with concern. "Don' worry, that Thief is with him, they are quite capable together."

As Ran nodded at him, Saguru approached them, carrying Kir on his shoulder, her arm around his neck.

"- She's just out" He answered at their interrogative's faces, bending to lean the CIA agent against the van.

"- Good ta now" Heiji said with a small smile.

He then looked to the direction Vermouth escaped, a bit frustrated.

"- We can take care of ourselves, you know " Shiho stated as she saw him turning his head to the mountain. "Both of you, go after her, it's not too late and we can't have her escape, with everything she knows... "

The Osakan detective nodded at her and turned to Saguru.

"- Let's go !"

* * *

After a short while running, Heiji bent to put his hands on his knees, trying to get his breath back, panting.

"- Are you alright ?" Saguru enquired with a low voice as he saw the teen stopped.

"- It will have ta do..." The Osakan stated, raising his head to look at the place they just reached.

The road they followed lead them at the top of the mountain, to a little clearing with a old Japanese fashioned house, its garden at the edge of a cliff.

"- She's probably in the house" The blond haired stated as he saw no one outside.

"- Yea, let's check."

They carefully entered the place, the half brit with his gun in his hands, trying both to be as silent as possible as they moved on the wooden floor. Hearing some voices on his left, Heiji gave a sign with the hand to Saguru and they headed in that direction, stopping near a large ajar wooden door.

"... We need to go away, Boss. And now." Vermouth's voice was saying.

Both teens looked at each other, knowing they were touching to the biggest secret of the Organization, its Boss. Saguru tried to have a quick glimpse inside the room and spot an old man, noticing behind his glasses murderous eyes as he has seen only once, when, during a case he had to go into a jail and meet the biggest sociopaths of the UK.

"- I won't leave without my research, that's a lifetime to me and you know it" The man answered. "_That man_ will bring the documents to me and then only, we'll leave...

\- Why are you always so stubborn, father..."

Heiji jumped as he heard her comment, it was explaining so much about the freedom of the blond-haired woman into the Organization, he would have to discuss about it with Shinichi.

He jumped a second time but that was for a totally different reason, as he heard...

"- I think you've heard enough, rats" Gin's voice said from behind his shoulder.

* * *

Shinichi ran all the way back, spotting at last the van a bit further away. The door was still opened and, thanks to the light inside, he recognized Ran, Shiho and Rena, the three of them on the floor.

"- Is everyone alright ? " He asked with a concerned look, still panting from the long run.

"- Shinichi ! " Ran welcomed him with a wide smile.

The teen returned her smile but it faded away as he saw the blood on Ran's wounded leg.

"- Ran..." he started, crouching to her, to see with relief it didn't look serious and she already had been tended.

"- Just a scratch, don't worry." She assured him.

"- I hope I have the right to worry about you when you're hurt by a bullet…" he stated, a bit reproving, looking straight into her eyes.

They stopped their contact quickly, as they both felt their cheeks reddening, and Shinichi turned to Shiho.

"- Vermouth, I bet ?

\- Yes, she attacked us, she disguised herself as Akai-san. Have you heard from him by the way ?

\- We found him, that's why I rushed here, we knew there was a problem. Kuroba is bringing him back, he needs medical attention but his life isn't in danger.

\- Good news." The scientist sighted. Seeing Shinichi giving a look at Rena, she answered his untold question. "I checked, it's ok, she's just fainted out. I called for medical help, the FBI sends some units as we speak.

\- Have you been able to contact Jodie-san yet ?

\- Not directly but, when I called the medics, they told me she called them to say her team succeeded in going out of the underground facility and was back to the main house but, as some of them are wounded, they were advancing slowly.

\- That had to be expected, the Organization was quite desperate tonight... " The teen had a thoughtful look towards the mountain. After a while, remembering the girls shouldn't be the only ones near of the van, he turned to them. "By the way, where are Hattori and Hakuba ?

\- They rushed after that woman who attacked us... " Ran pointed with a sign of the head towards the path going into the woods on his right.

"- Both of them ? Hattori wasn't in state to follow anyone..." he grumbled with a concerned look the same way. He gently put his hand on Ran's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sorry, I need to go after those two baka.

\- I understand" she nodded but her eyes clearly said she would have preferred him to stay here, safe, so she could have more time with her favourite detective, above all now he was a grown-up again.

They were going to have a lot of things to say to each other but unfortunately, it would have to wait a bit longer.

"- Be careful" She managed to ask, despite the knot forming into her throat.

"- As always" he smiled, squeezing softly the hand he had on her shoulder to give her some courage.

After one last look at her, he got up, taking his weapon in his hand, and headed to the road Ran pointed to catch up with his friends.

* * *

Before Heiji could even move, the long-haired man grabbed his right shoulder and took his knife out. With a groan, the teen felt the blade pierce through his back, below his ribs, grazing his spine and going up to look for his heart. He saw Saguru turning on himself as he heard the cry and the Osakan's eyes, veiled with unbearable pain, met the blond-haired bewildered ones.

"- Hattori-kun!" Hakuba let out with surprise.

"- …Run" Heiji managed to articulate before his legs gave under him and he fell head first on the floor, the blade still in his back, motionless.

With sad but determined eyes as he knew he wouldn't be able to fight the Organization when they were three against one, Saguru took his weapon and shot in the direction of the BO agent, not really aiming, as he was passing in front of him to go away.

He had a satisfied grin when he heard him groan but the man, as he fell, managed to grab Saguru's ankle, throwing him hard on the floor, his chin first, too surprised to have enough time to put his hands in front of him to protect his head. A bit dizzy by the chock, the teen quickly rolled on his back, tears in the eyes as he felt the intense throbbing in his chin, and raised his gun again.

A bullet wheezed Gin's face as he was pulling the detective to him, his iron grip still around his leg and he managed to be near enough to sit on the teen, blocking one of his arms and twisting harshly the other's hand who was holding the gun. The blond-haired yelled with pain and tried to fight back but, with one hand out and the man's strength and weight, he felt desperation overwhelming him as he knew he almost had no chance against him. With a disgusting cracking noise, the long-haired man's fist slammed the detective's face, breaking his nose. Unable to move, Saguru felt the blood flow on his mouth and cheeks and saw the agent's expression of pure hatred as he was throwing once again his left hand at the teen's head. After one last jolt of pain when the punch it him, everything turned black.

"- Fucking rats..." He panted, after another strike at the unconscious detective's face.

"- Gin ? Is that you ?" a male voice asked as he and Vermouth walked through the wooden door.

"- Yes, Boss... We had some unwanted visitors, I had to do a bit of cleaning" he answered, getting up and wiping the boy's blood he had on his hand on his black trouser.

"- Not a lucky days for those detectives..." The blond-haired woman pointed with a bit of sadness in her eyes when she saw the knife in the dark skinned detective's back and the severely beaten face of the half-brit.

"- Detectives ? Those kids ? Don't make me laugh… " Gin said, getting his gun out and pointing it at the blond-haired teen. Without batting an eye, he pulled the trigger. "I got your data, What's next ? " he asked, turning to his Boss.

"- Go get the car, and meet me in the garden, I need to settle something with Eva" the man said, looking at Vermouth with an undecipherable expression.

"- Yes, sir "

And he walked away, without a look back at any of the teens. "Fucking kids…" He grumbled with annoyance, checking the wound the blond-haired gave him to his right side.


	25. Bo's Arc - Chapter 25 - Last bullet

**Heya ! **

**So here is the last chapter with action... This went so fast ! **

**There's a note at the end of this chapter (read the chapter before, it spoils it !), as I think some of you may be surprised by the way I wrote this... It gives a start of an explanation ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Great : Haha, sorry... Well, the end has to be tense, right ? ; ) **

**SilverSapphire34523 : I think you'll want to keep some prayers for this chapter also ^^**

**Reader : *Puts dark glasses on her nose* No comment... He's my favourite but I guess I'm a bit sadistic ? haha... And more cliffhangers to go... ; ) But we'll solve all those pretty soon, I promise ! And thank you, glad to hear you enjoy the story :3**

* * *

**Chapter 25 : Last bullet**

* * *

Shinichi was all ears, carefully walking through the forest when he arrived, at the top, near the house. Trying to turn around it to see if he could find any trace of the other guys, he overheard two voices quarrelling in the garden and headed in that direction.

"- ... don't appreciate when you talk to me like that, Eva." An old man, probably in his eighties, was saying." I don't want to have to deal with your insubordination again, above all in front of my men."

_"My men ?"_ the detective noted. _"Was he ...?"_

He looked more intensely to the man who could be the Organisation's Boss. The man had a kind of evil aura but he was so old Shinichi couldn't believe it. No wonders the man was living hidden, how to inspire fear and respect when you look about to die from old age?

"- And then what ?" Vermouth snapped with a dull look. " Will you scold me ? Hit me until I'm unconscious? Imprison me until I beg you to let me out? You did all those the last 50 years, want to start again ?

\- If that's what it takes, yea. " The man's voice was calm but full of menace. "We are stuck together after all.

\- For your stupid researches... Well, sorry, I've had enough, father." The blond haired concluded, sadly shaking her head.

"- You know you can't leave. It's me or death, chose.

\- I've already made my choice. Have fun dissecting me, I know you want to do it since I swallowed that damn pill" Vermouth answered, closing her eyes and opening her arms.

Without any hesitation, the man took his gun and aimed at the woman.

"- NO !" Shinichi shouted, unable to look any longer at what was going to be a cold-blooded murder.

He ran out of his hiding to go through the dozen of meters between them and tackled the man, who was still surprise-struck, making him shot in midair.

Swept along by the teen's momentum, they both rolled near the edge of the cliff. They fought a little while on the floor for the weapon but the detective managed to have him let it go and the gun fell into the void. The man wasn't finished yet and, with a thrust of his hips of a strength his fragile body didn't seem to have, tried to have the teen follow the weapon in its fall. Unfortunately, he rested on a chunk of earth that gave under his weight and, wincing an instant, his hands still firmly grabbing Shinichi's pullover, he finally flipped over the cliff, taking the teen with him in his fall.

"- COOL GUY ! " A powerless Vermouth shouted as she saw the both of them falling towards the ground.

* * *

Back in his moonlight thief's clothes, Kaito, who just arrived in front of the house, panting from all the running he had to do since he left Akai at the van, froze at Vermouth's cry. When he rushed to the garden, his eyes widened in shock as, with a look at the scene, he understood his friend probably just fell from the cliff. Back to running, he passed in front of the blond-haired woman and jumped overboard, deploying his glider.

"- KUDO !"

Overflown with panic, he looked with his azure eyes for the detective along the cliff and, his heart skipping a beat, he noticed, thanks to the moonlight, both men lying on a ledge below, a dozen of meters away. The strange angles of the old man's members let no doubts about the fact there was nothing left to do for him but, for Shinichi, who was on the edge of the small platform that stopped them, his hand hanging in the air, it was perhaps not too late.

_"Won't be easy"_ the Thief stated for himself, clenching his jaw as he saw the stunt he'll have to perform to land on such a slim surface.

He didn't hesitate however and, not really cautious in what he was doing in the rush, he tilted his glider and folded his wings when he felt it was the right timing. He closed his eyes with a pained grimace when he hit the ledge, swept along his own momentum, he landed harshly and felt his back was deeply scratched by the rocky ground. Getting up quickly in spite of his contusions, he kneeled to the detective, making him gently roll toward him, putting his arm under his head.

"- Come on, answer me, Tantei-kun !" He called, trying to spot the external injuries the teen could have.

Before he couldn't even check anything, he heard a gunshot and felt his cheek was grazed by a broken rock that had just been torn. Raising his head, he saw a dark silhouette, his long white hair shining in the night's pale light, bent to look in their direction from the top of the cliff.

_"Gin"_ Kaito spitted with anger.

Pushing his glider open and putting his other hand under Shinichi's knees, he jumped once again to take them to a safer place. Spotting some trees below him which could be enough to take cover, he started to head at them at high speed but, after more gunshots, he felt he was losing his control on the glider. He turned his head, noticing with horror the left pole was broken and the glider wouldn't fly anymore, to say nothing about steering it. Almost free falling the last meters, he however maintained his path to a tree and, seeing he was approaching it with a far too high speed, he did his best to curl himself around Shinichi, trying to protect his body, especially his head from the many branches whipping them. He let a pained cry out when he felt his leg, hitting a bigger branch than the others, break from the shock but, even with the intense pain, he didn't let go of his friend.

At last, his already wounded back touched the ground, the abrupt stop knocking the air out of his lungs, with the unconscious detective on his chest.

* * *

"- Fuck" Gin swore, as he saw the teens were now protected by the trees' cover.

Turning on himself to go down and finish them, he almost jumped when he saw he was now facing Vermouth and gave her a surprised look. That surprised look even grew bigger as he noticed she was pointing a smoking gun at him. Starting to feel an uneasiness in his chest that wasn't related to the wound the blond-haired teen gave him, he moved his hand to touch it and saw it was coming back bloody.

"- You... traitor" he managed to articulate as he fell to the ground.

Vermouth face was expressionless at his last words. She passed near him and gave a look at the bottom of the cliff, spotting some white cloth through a tree's foliage.

_"Thanks for once again for saving my life, Silver-bullet-kun... Please be alright."_ she prayed with concern in her eyes.

She turned to the house and walked away, finally free of her chains.

* * *

After a few moments, Kaito finally managed to catch his breath with a suffering grimace. He felt his whole body was aching but, out of all the throbbing, the one in his broken leg was the worse. Taking several deep breathing to calm down his pain, he finally opened his eyes to focus on the detective lying on him.

"- Tantei-kun ? " He called, gently patting his head. " Kudô ?! " He tried again, with more concern in his voice as his friend didn't react at all.

The Thief's face whitened when he saw the gloved hand he just put on the teen was stained with blood. Trying not to panic, he hold his breath and laid a hand on the teen's back, feeling with relief his heart beating and his chest moving. But the colour of the detective's face wasn't quite reassuring and Kaito clearly saw he wasn't in any state to get up and to fetch some help...

"- Mouri-san ? " He asked after bringing his hand on his earplug.

"- ... Kuroba-kun ?" He heard her voice. "Everything alright ? You found them ? "

_"No use in hiding the truth"_ Kaito thought with a sigh. But he had to find a way to explain the broken glider.

"- I didn't spot ... Hattori or Hakuba but..." He stopped with a sad look at his unconscious friend on him.

"- Kuroba-kun, are you alright ?

\- Not really... " He panted as a throb worse than the others went trough his body. " The Kaitou Kid tried to help us... but the gilder broke... I need you to send us... a medical team asap.

\- Us ? Is Shinichi also...?" The voice was obviously full of concern.

"- He's out... I don't know how serious are... his injuries but it doesn't look good."

He heard her horrified gasp on the other side but she quickly refocused again.

"- Got it, where are you ?"

Concentrating with difficulties to give the small explanations needed to find them, he let his arm fall back on the ground as Ran finished the conversation, confirming she was sending them help.

"- Hold on, Tantei-kun..." he encouraged Shinichi with a faint smile, putting a protective hand on the teen's back.

He then closed his eyes, trying to control his own pain, trying not to faint as he started to take off the most of the Kid's disguise he could : he couldn't allow himself to end at the hospital in it.

* * *

Jodie gave a look at the body at her feet.

Gin.

After she came back to the van, Ran sent her in the woods, where the four teens had been heading after Vermouth, to look for Hattori and Hakuba, as she already knew where Kudô and Kuroba were. She left with a few unhurt men and all of them were now searching the house, trying to find any trace of the young people or any of the place's inhabitants, without any success at the moment.

Her eyes stayed on the long-haired man a bit longer. He haunted her so much, with his ice-cold eyes and after all he did to Akai. And now he was dead, with two bullets in the torso. She didn't know who killed him but she was grateful, even if it maybe was an internal fight between some BO's members as none of the teens was in sight and the wounds were fresh.

She looked away, walking to the edge of the cliff as she noticed some signs of a struggle on the grass, and had a glimpse in the void. She saw a man on a ledge below and raised her hand to her earplug to have a team to retrieve what was probably a dead body.

"- I found them" one of her men stated through the device before she could finish her move.

"- Status ?

\- ... Not good."

Jodie could fell the uneasiness in her man's voice.

"- Call for medical attention now ! Where are you ?! I'm coming."

She rushed back to the house, directing herself inside thanks to her agent's guidance and ended in a hallway where the man was waiting for her, crouching near one of the teens he was rolling on his side.

At the feet of her team mate, Jodie recognized Saguru, having meeting him that very morning, by his blond hair.

"- How is he ? " She inquired, noticing blood running through his bruised face

"- Just unconscious I think. He's been beaten and his nose is probably broken but he's apparently been saved by his bulletproof jacket. " He explained, showing the bullet stuck into the protection vest as he lifted the teen's pullover.

"- Lucky we forced them to wear those " She thanked with relief.

"- Not all of them had one..." the man sighted, pointing behind him with a sign of the head.

Jodie's heart sank as she recognized Heiji's tanned skin and saw the blade still stuck into his back.

"- Is he... ? " She managed to ask, not daring to finish her sentence, raising her hand to her mouth to hide her shock.

"-... He's still breathing but..." her agent started with a worried look at the West detective."... It's not really a great sight but we should leave the blade like that for the moment, he'll probably haemorrhage if we remove it now..."

Nodding, she kneeled at the teen, her eyes watering at the extent of wounds of the Osakan.

_"They are damn too young for this"_ she swore, angry at herself not to have opposed more vehemently to their participation the mission.

"- Hang in there, Hattori-kun, we have you." She whispered, laying her hand gently on his shoulder.

* * *

Once the conversation with the Thief was over, Ran let Shiho, who heard most of it, go back to the van to call for medical help. The woman came back and noticed the brown-haired got up and was now displaying a determined look on her face.

"- Mouri-san ? " the auburn-haired asked, noticing that, because of her leg injury, the teen was wincing with a pained look.

"- I'm heading there."

The scientist, aware of her feelings towards Shinichi sighted and nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop the girl.

"- Try not to push too much that leg" she advised with a small smile.

"- I'll do my best."

Clenching her jaw to ignore the pain, the girl limped, half running, half walking towards the direction Kaito described to her. After a difficult walk, spotting a white cloth she recognized as the cloak of the Thief, she rushed the last few meters and let herself fall on her knees near both teens, seeing Shinichi was lying on Kuroba.

Despite his efforts, the teen had passed out just a bit after his call to her, luckily after he cleared himself of any Kid's recognizable element, and was now unconscious but the girl was reassured to see he was moving his eyes in his sleep, probably dreaming, which was a good sign.

It was completely a different story for the one she loved.

"- Shinichi !" She called with watery eyes, trying to squeeze his shoulder to wake him up.

She noticed, in the faint light of the moon, that his hair were tangled with blood and his face was far too pale.

"- Don't you dare do this to me, baka ! " She added with anger as she saw he wasn't responding to her calls. "I have an answer to give to you... " She scolded, burying her head in her hands and crying wholeheartedly, her shoulders shaking with her sobs as the deepest sadness engulfed her.

* * *

**Writer's note :** **Ok, so I already hear the ones saying I killed the Boss too quickly, this should have been an epic fight after all these chapters against RUM... So, no, I wasn't in a hurry to finish that story and I'm convinced that the fight against Ano kata won't be about action. To be honest, I think the guy is pretty old and is either in an oldy's body (like I pictured him here) or in a kid's body (after taking the silver bullet drug). So I see the end as a battle of minds, not a battle of fists. As this story was about action, I didn't really create a battle of minds, having the 4 boys against the boss would have been a bit unfair, he wouldn't have stand a chance xD Oh well, see that quick death as another of my fantasies :3**


	26. BO's arc - Chapt 26 - Convalescence

**Hiya !**

**Uhh, we are reaching the end, last chapters will be published next week and this will be over :S**

**Well, enjoy today's chapter, time to tidy all the mess I left after all those action chapters ; )**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**guest : Here, the wait has ended : ) **

**Reader : Yup, down at last ! And thanks for the compliments *blushes* I love to feel people having as much fun as I am with this story : )**

**Great : Yea, that's why I wanted to explain that a bit, I knew some would be expecting far more action ^^; As long as you can like it, this is good ; )**

**Estelle : Once again, that's not grudge :p And I think he wasn't the only one that got hurt in that story... ; ) But yea, I felt like the others had to have their share in that last arc so... haha ^^ And thank you ! **

* * *

**Chapter 26 : Convalescence**

* * *

Unable to sleep, still angry and worried as she had been left apart, Kazuha was lying wide awake in her bed, in the Kudô's house. She was ready to bet she wasn't the only one awake, with Shinichi's parents in the house.

As her door slowly opened, the knot in her stomach tightened even more, knowing no one would disturb her in the middle of the night if it wasn't important.

"- Kazuha-chan ? " A female voice gently called.

"- I'm awake, Kudô-san. Anythin' new ?

\- Ran called... We should all be heading to the hospital, apparently Shin-chan and Hattori-kun have been brought there in... a serious condition."

The girl's throat went dry and she gulped with difficulties.

"-... I'm ready in two minutes."

* * *

Kaito jumped and he opened his eyes as the contact with something cold on his forehead woke up him unpleasantly. He immediately regretted his move as he felt the pain going through his whole body, almost like a revenge from being awoken in such a stressful way.

"- Sorry" Saguru excused himself, taking his hand away, when he saw his pained expression. "You seemed to be having a nightmare...

\- Hakuba ?" the Thief blinked at the teen, probably the last person he expected to be touching him.

Looking at the teen with more care, he noticed a big bandage covered a large part of his face, partly hiding some bruising on the right side. A sling was around his right hand.

"- You don't look good...

\- Neither do you" the blond-haired snorted, raising his unhurt hand to his bandage, touching it with a thoughtful look.

"- And that's a broken nose I spot there ?

\- Yes... I guess I won't be able to introduce myself as the "handsome high school detective" for a little while.

\- Are you kidding me, you really call yourself that ?!" the dark haired gave him a dull look.

"- Yes, indeed, I am kidding you." Saguru smiled at the surprised face of the teen.

"- Wait until I'm back on those legs" Kaito smiled back, amused by his friend's new sense of auto derision, "I shall take a terrible revenge !

\- You will have long forgotten, you'll keep that plaster for a long time, you know... No night activities for a little while for you.

\- Which night activity are you referring to ? " The Thief asked, with a lascivious smirk. "I do have several of them..."

Saguru rolled his eyes and ignored that last sentence. A friendly silence fell upon them, as the Kid was remembering the last events and in particular what brought him into an hospital again.

"- Do you have some news about the others ? " He asked with a now dark face. " Kudô wasn't really at his best when I fainted.

\- No, I don't, I just woke up myself in the nearby bed and came to you as I heard you moving. Hattori-kun didn't look good either..." Saguru thought with a chill. " I'm going to try to have some news on them.

\- Sorry, I would have come with you but... " The Thief shrugged with a look at the plaster surrounding his leg.

"- I will be back as soon as possible. Do you want me to call Aoko-kun or your mother ?

\- Aoko at least... My mum doesn't need to see me again in a hospital..."

* * *

"- Ran-chan !" Yukiko called when she spot the girl sitting on a bench in the hallway, her head hidden between her hands.

"- Yukiko-san ! " The girl got up as she saw Shinichi's parents arrive, rubbing her eyes, aimlessly trying to hide the fact she was crying.

"- Stay sit, darling" the woman ordered as she saw the difficulties the girl had to stay on both her feet as she didn't use her crutch to stand despite of her wounded leg.

The blond haired gave a look at the light "Surgery in progress" above the door next them and noticed it was still on.

"- Still in the block ?" Yûsaku asked, when he also noticed the light was on, trying not to sound too worried.

As she sat back on the bench, Ran nodded, unable to speak with the knot in her stomach her concern about Shinichi induced. Yukiko settled herself on her side, giving her a hug, patting her head.

The girl arrived four hours ago at the hospital where everyone had been taken, reluctantly letting the medic look after her wound as she wanted to come back as soon as possible to her friend's side. She just needed a few stitches anyway : the wound did hurt but it wasn't serious, though the fact she walked several hundred meters on it didn't help..

Ran had made a few calls, especially to warn her childhood friend's parents, knowing his status was critical and they would need to be here. And then the wait, filled with anguish, began.

* * *

"- Jodie san ?" Kazuha asked, recognizing the FBI agent she met when Heiji was previously at the hospital after his fight against Matsumoto.

Arms crossed, the woman was standing in the hallway near of another surgery block's door, looking in front of her with sad eyes, probably lost in a daydream.

"- Kazuha-chan ?" She turned her head at her.

The girl looked like she'd been thrown off the bed, her hair undone and a worried look on her face. _"Of course she should worry..."_ Jodie thought, closing her eyes as she remembered in what state she found her friend, memory that would haunt her probably awhile, whatever the ongoing surgery's outcome.

"- Do you know what happened ? Ran-chan called us, saying Kudô-kun and Heiji had been brought here...

\- You should sit down, I'll explain.

\- I don' want ta !" The Osakan girl was now shaking in anger. "Tell me what happened ! I can' stand bein' left out..."

\- Tôyama-san..." the blond-haired looked at her in the eyes, to gauge how much of the truth about her friend's status she would stand.

Seeing her determined face she sighted.

"- He's been stabbed. The medics are now removing the blade, it's a critical step... As long as this step isn't over, we won't know if he'll..." The FBI agent stopped as she didn't dare to mention the final risk the adolescent was facing.

Even if she decided to stay strong, Kazuha felt her legs give under her. She succeeded in reaching a nearby bench before falling down and grabbed her beloved talisman, keeping it between her hands.

_"Please Kami, let him be alright" _she prayed, closing her eyes, a single tear rolling on her cheek.

Jodie put her hand on her shoulder.

"- Hattori-kun is a stubborn guy, he'll make it."

* * *

Saguru slowly opened their room's door, in case Kaito was back to sleep, to notice it was useless as the teen was looking at him in expectation.

"- So, any news ? " he asked with concern.

"- Nothing really concluding yet... They both are in the surgical unit, in a life-threatening situation." the blond-haired darkly answered as he headed towards his own bed.

"- That serious..." the dark-haired sighted, shaking his head. "What happened to Hattori ?

\- The man named Gin surprised us when we were spying on his Boss... " Saguru had a pained grimace as he sat back on his bed, gratefully lying back against his pillow."... He stabbed him in the back...

\- He what ?! And are you alright ? " Kaito enquired as he noticed his friend's tense face.

"- Yes, I think it's just the cracked ribs.

\- Just ?! You hanged around in the corridors with cracked ribs ?

\- Nothing to worry about, Gin shot me but I had my bulletproof jacket..." the blond-haired tried to shrug but stopped as he felt it wasn't a good idea with his wounds.

"- I also own him my broken leg... Just gimme two minutes with him..." The Thief really looked dead serious when he spoke his threat.

"- It's a bit too late, he's been found dead. You will have to find yourself another victim if you want to add "murderer" to your criminal curriculum vitae, Kuroba-kun.

\- The FBI got him ?

\- I succeeded in touching him in the torso but the wound who killed him was from someone else, though apparently not from a FBI agent. So it's probably an internal conflict, he would have been killed by Vermouth or the Boss, they were only those three members of the BO up there.

\- Only three ? Then the Boss was the dead oldie on the platform, the one Kudô fell with?!" Kaito couldn't hide his surprise as he remembered the man, looking old and fragile.

"- Yes, it was him, I saw him myself in the house, as he was being called as such by Vermouth." Saguru nodded. He then gave him and interrogative look. "Do you know why they fell off the cliff ?

\- No, when I arrived, they were already down there. But I guess they fought each other and both fell as they weren't paying attention... " The Kid had a chill at the memory of how he found his friend, expecting the worse, on the platform. "So, that's it ? It's the end of the Organization ?

\- Vermouth is still missing but as to the others... they either have been arrested or killed."

They both fell silent for a while. The news was good but it was hard to celebrate when half the team's fate was uncertain.

"- By the way, did you warn Aoko ? " Kaito enquired as his thoughts wandered to the girl.

"- Yes, I did..."Saguru had a faint smile. " It seems she learnt some ... expressions from her father and it would be hard for me to classify them as refined vocabulary. She wanted to be left alone with the ones who hurt you and had some... creative ways in mind to make them feel sorry about wounding her relatives.

\- That's my Aoko" Kaito giggled softly as he was imagining her glaring at some B.O. member.

"- Try to keep an eye on her, most of her ideas would have given her trouble with law enforcement...

\- Oh, then she's the perfect partner ! " he smirked, very Kid-like, to the blond haired who rolled his eyes with an exaggerate sigh.

* * *

After a six hours wait, around 5 a.m., the red light that gently bathed the hallway where Ran, Yûsaku and Yukiko were dozing turned off at last and the doctor went out, his cap in the hand.

"- Are you Shinichi-kun's parents ? " He asked to the 2 adults who had jumped on their feet as the door opened.

"- Yes." Yûsaku nodded. "How is he ?

\- We'll need to confirm it when the friend he came with wakes up but his injuries are characteristic of a fall from a great height. He has several minors injuries but the most concerning is his head, as he probably hit it in the process, causing a cranial trauma. We released most of the pressure the haemorrhage induced in his skull but... We don't know how much damage has been done to his brain. "

Yukiko's eyes widened with the pessimistic news and her shoulders started to shake as she cuddled against her husband.

"- When will we know if...?" Shinichi's father dared to ask after a gulp, gently patting the back of his wife.

"- We'll be monitoring him but it isn't possible yet to know when he'll wake up. Right now, he's in a coma.

\- Why did I let him..." Ran sobbed, overcome by guilt as she heard her friend's status. "That baka..."

* * *

Beep.

_Annoyin'..._

Beep.

_Someone stop that..._

Beep.

_Five more minutes !_

Beep.

_If ya want a fight, I'm yer man !_

Heiji tried to open his eyes to slam whoever was thinking it was funny to let an alarm clock near his bed but the move seemed harder than he imagined, as he felt his whole body was heavy.

Just what had he done last night ?

The dark-skinned suddenly opened his eyes when the memory of his last little adventure came back to him, chasing away the last traces of fog in his half-asleep mind.

Disguise. Hideout. Beaten. Boss. And that damn long-haired man who surprised them.

His eyes focused on the ceiling, noticing the lights were dimmed and there was a strong antiseptic smell. Hospital, of course and, by the soft lights, an intensive care unit. The beeping was coming from the monitoring he was hooked to.

The Osakan tried to determine the extent of his wounds because all those medical stuffs didn't bode anything good but he wasn't feeling anything apart from numbness in his whole body, they probably overdid the drugs' dose. He identified however an uneasiness in his back and remembered with a revolted grimace the feeling of the blade that went through it.

Giving up his self-diagnosis, he let his eyes check the chamber he was in, guessing from the lack of activity and noise even for this kind of service where the silence had to be absolute, that it was probably the middle of the night.

His heart missed a beat as he turned his head on his left, noticing he wasn't the only one who ended in the hospital.

"- Kudô ?" He softly called, a bit guilty to probably wake his friend but he had so many questions...

"Kudô ?" He tried, with a stronger voice.

As his friend didn't seem to be responding, he gave a better look at him, whitening as he spot the heavy monitoring and the respiratory unit linked to Shinichi. He also saw the bandage surrounding a large part of his skull and what was visible of his face, all cuts and bruises. Ignoring his own pain, rolling on his side to quickly get up as he felt a knot forming in his stomach, Heiji winced as he got on his feet as they didn't agree in carrying him.

_"Come on..."_ He grumbled, clenching his teeth, launching himself towards his friend's bed by pure will, his body barely responding to him.

"- Oy ? Pal !" He called with frantic worry on his face, clinging to the bed at the last second as he felt an acute pain, making him lose his balance.

_"Brain activity monitorin' ?! Holly shit..." _He swore when his eyes fell on the nearest monitor.

He felt his weakened legs gave under him as he understood his best friend was very probably in a coma.

"- Crap, don' ya dare... ! " Heiji hit the floor with his fist, clenching his jaw really strongly. "Not after all we've been through..."

"- Heiji-kun !"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and, when he turned his head, he saw, through the veil of sadness that fell on in his eyes, that it belonged to a nurse.

"- What do you think you're doing ? You should be in bed ! " She was scolding with a worried face. "You even ripped your IV out !"

Heiji gave an unconcerned look at his bloody arm, noticing for the first time the insistent beeping of an unplugged cardiac monitoring. His.

_"Oh, that's why she came..."_

As the nurse was helping him up, his legs gave under him once again and he fell heavily to the floor with a painful grunt, his vision blurring, feeling his consciousness slowly going away.

"- Heiji-kun !"

* * *

"- HE WHAT ?! " Kazuha asked with bewildered eyes the following morning as the nurse explained her in the corridor in front of the detectives' room what happened the previous night.

"- I don't know how he did it, the doctor said he shouldn't have woken before tomorrow and walking even a few meters with these injuries is... " The woman shook her head in incredulity, not even remarking she should have scolded the girl for her high voice in a place that was supposed to stay calm.

"- He didn'... worsen them at least ?" the Osakan girl's look softened. "His back was...

\- We'll be performing some examination this morning to be sure. " The woman explained. "Well, if you excuse me, I should be going now..."

They exchanged a polite nod and Kazuha sighted as she put her hand on the door's handle to go back to the room.

"- Kazuha-chan !

\- Eh... ? " The girl gave a surprised look at a dark haired teen she didn't recognize running at her.

"- Oh, that's right, the disguise" the other girl blushed. "I'm Kanako... hmm in fact I'm Aoko... "

Kazuha's look was now a startled one, wondering if that girl was in the right service or if she escape from another one...the kind with sleeves in the back. But the voice indeed reminded her of the girl.

"- Ok, let's start again." the girl tried as she felt she wasn't convincing. "My name is Nakamori Aoko and for personal reasons, I had to disguise myself for a while, under the name Aoba Kanako.

\- Yer life seems complicated, Kana... Aoko-chan..." The Osakan gave her an embarrassed look. She then remembered how the girl was correcting herself on some of her sayings when they first met. "Is that related ta the fact Heiji an' Kudô-san saved ya last time ?

\- Yes. But everything is over now, I can go back to my previous life..." Aoko sighted with relief. "I'm looking for the room 226, do you know where it is ? And why are you here ? Are you also visiting someone ?"

Kazuha gave a sad look at the door behind her.

"- I'm takin' ya to the room 226, it's not far away." she decided, giving a small smile to the girl.

\- You sure ? You were about to go into that one ...

\- He's not awake yet, I can be away a few moments.

\- ... Is it Hattori-kun again ?!"

As Kazuha nodded , Aoko noticed with a closer look the girl seemed tired and worried, even if she was trying to hide it behind a friendly smile.

"- Come on, follow me" the green eyed teen invited, starting to head to the room 226.

On the way, she explained a bit to Aoko what she heard happened to Heiji and Shinichi and their actual medical statuses.

"- An' here we are." Kazuha concluded as they reached the door.

"- I'll come and visit later, I want to say hi to Ran.

\- See ya there then."

Standing in front of the door, the dark-haired girl gently slapped her cheeks with both her hands, as to remove any trace of worry on her face. Cheerful she would be.

"- Heya , I came to play !" She childishly introduced herself as she opened the door.

"- Aoko !" Kaito welcomed her with a warm smile. "Nice to see your true face again !

\- What are you speaking about, Bakaito, we live together, you see my true face every night...

\- Yea, but it's better with you wearing clothes for a change !

\- Let's say I never heard that..." Saguru's usually flat voice pointed with an amused smirk.

"- No, that's not..." Aoko turned scarlet at the thought of what the detective implied. "We're in a relationship but... not that kind... He's seen me in pyjamas, that's all !

\- Haha, your face is priceless, Ahouko ! " The Thief was now laughing wholeheartedly.

"- And that's how you thank me for rushing to the hospital to see you ?" She sulked back. "You don't seem_that_ injured to me... And you, Hakuba-kun, you never mentioned you were also hospitalized... " She scolded, spotting the blond was in an hospital gown.

"- Nothing serious. " He shrugged at her accusing finger.

The detective then carefully got on his feet.

"- Where are you going ?" Kaito asked with a concerned look. "You know you shouldn't stand around...

\- Is that worry I hear in your voice, Thief ? " Saguru asked with a raised brow."But you don't have to be concerned, I'll look after myself to be perfectly fit to catch you on your next heist.

\- You wish ... " The magician gave him a provocative smirk.

"- Indeed.

\- Uh, guys ? " The girl was a bit lost, trying to determine if they were quarrelling or joking.

"- Never mind us, Aoko-san, detectives and thieves aren't fated to get along. See you later."

As the blond-haired was closing the door, his arrogant facade fell off and he winked to the Thief in the long-haired teen's back.

_"Damn, that guy will never stop to surprise me"_ Kaito thought with bewilderment, understanding the half-brit picked a fight to have a reason to leave him alone with Aoko.

"- So, that's how you break your promise not to get hurt again ? With a broken leg and a ton of stitches in your back ?" she asked with bored eyes as she sat on the teen's bed.

"- I just said I'll try, it wasn't really a promise..." The Thief answered with an embarrassed face.

"- Ah yea ? I thought I remembered it was a promise and we did seal it... Should I get my kiss back, Mr Lying boyfriend ? " she teased him with a smile.

"- Nah, I've a better idea." Kaito smirked. "We should try again, maybe that one kiss wasn't efficient enough...

\- Baka ! " She laughed but she nevertheless bent to him to share a gentle kiss.

As she was moving her face away from him, he grabbed her arm and forced her to lie on the bed by his side.

"- Kaito, this is an hospital !

\- Never mind. I want you by my side.

\- Spoiled brat..."She shook her head but stayed on the bed, turning on herself to cuddle against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

After a few minutes resting, enjoying the gentle feeling to be against the man she loved, surrounded by his warmth, Aoko opened her eyes with an expression a bit sad.

"- What's the matter ?" Kaito asked as he spotted her face while he was stroking her hair.

"- I'm glad this fight came to an end but how many more in front of us ?

\- Whatever it'll take, Aoko. I never said it was going to be easy...

\- I know. Let's just... try to have a small pause after this one ?

\- Your wishes are my orders, Ojou-san." Kaito smiled, stroking her messy hair with a soothing hand.


	27. BO's Arc - Chap 27 - Back among us

**Soooo apart from an extra chapter not about our four guys I'll be publishing next sunday, here we are, at the end of this story : )**

**I'd like to give a special thanks to my "serial reviewers" : SilverSapphire34523, Great, Shinshinjane, Reader, EmYasmina, Ctopher (who didn't get my "wicked" love for Heiji :p) and the other reviewers, thank you guys for your support, it really helps : )**

**Another special thanks to Opal Spirit, who was a bit kinda my guinea pig xD**

**And thanks to all the others who favourited, followed or even just read this story, don't hesitate to write a review to tell me what you thought about it :D**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Reader : Yea, it was also pretty intense to write, glad you enjoyed it :D**

**EmYasmina : Maa, I'm not such a bad girl, here is the end ; )**

**Great : Haha, that would have been an idea... But still, that has already been used much, right ? So not for that story, sorry ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 27 : Back among us**

* * *

Beep

_Argh not again !_

Knowing now what the beeping was, Heiji opened his eyes slowly. According to the noise, this time, he woke up during the day but, luckily enough, they kept a dimmed light all day long in the ICU so he wasn't dazzled.

As he tried to move his hand, he noticed Kazuha was holding it.

"- Hi, girl" He smiled with a feeble and coarse voice.

The green eyed teen jumped at his voice, a smile appearing on her face as she saw his eyes were on her.

"- Hi, Heiji."

\- Ohayô, Hattori-kun. How are you feeling ? " He heard from the nearby bed and spotted Ran sitting near Shinichi as he turned his head to the voice.

"- Hi, Nee-chan ." He answered as the girl got up to come closer to him.

The Osakan's eyes fell with sadness on his friend lying on the nearby bed.

"- He's into a coma, right ?" He asked to Ran now she was near him.

"- Yes... We don't know yet if he'll... " The girl's eyes turned watery, struck by her emotions, unable to finish her sentence.

Heiji clenched his jaw and gulped with difficulty, his usually dark-skinned face whitening as he got the confirmation of what he feared : it was possible his best friend would never wake up.

"- Kuroba-kun found him _that_ night" She went on, managing to control herself once again. "Apparently Shinichi fell from a cliff with a man he called the "Boss"... "

The Osakan gave the long-haired girl an interrogative look, clearly eager to learn more about what happened.

"- Kazuha-chan" Ran stated, " I think the doctor asked to call him as soon as Hattori-kun awoke...

\- Yea, I'm on my way... " She gave a suspicious look at the both of them, knowing they were once again going to share whatever secret and, as always, she was going to be left out. " Remember what ya promised me, Heiji" She sighted while getting up.

"- And that was ?" Ran asked as the teen went out.

"- Ta explain her the most I could... She was gettin' pretty suspicious at « Conan-kun»" He gave the girl an embarrassed look. "I wanted ta check with Kudô what I could tell her, I know we hurt her, with all our secrets...

\- Yes, I think she has the right to know, as she's been implied in most of the case so even if it's over...

\- So it's right ? It was the really the Boss an' the BO doesn' exist anymore ?

\- Yes, all the members are out, except one named Vermouth...

\- That chick again" Heiji grinned in admiration. "An' on our side, what happened ta the others ?

\- Shiho-chan's and Akai-san's injuries have been treated and they came back to Hakase's house as they didn't need to be hospitalized. I think Akai-san is organizing Camel-san's funeral. "

Heiji had a sad face as he remembered the man who had been killed while saving him.

" - As to Rena-san" Ran continued, "she's in a plane to America right now, she wanted to see her brother, as her infiltration's mission is finished. I still can't believe most of Eisuke-kun's family was CIA..." She added, more for herself...

They both turned their head to the door as it opened and saw Kazuha and a doctor came in.

"- Glad to see you're awake, Heiji-kun" The man greeted, getting a polite nod from the male teenager. " If you could excuse us for an instant, Misses, I think it'll be better for me to perform the examination alone with Heiji-kun."

The girls left and the medic helped the teen sit to give a look at his back. Even the simple act to remove his shirt was difficult and he felt a kind of stiffness around his belly.

"- What's that ? " He wondered, as he spotted he was wearing a surgical corset.

The doctor gave him a serious face as he was removing it.

"- Try not to move. Do you remember what happened ?

\- Yea, a guy stabbed my back with a knife..." The Osakan had a chill, remaining how Gin spawned out of nowhere behind his back before attacking him, an evil grin on his face.

"- That was three days ago.

\- What ?!

\- That's not really surprising : you arrived here in a life-threatening status, with severe injuries... You spend a while undergoing surgery, the blade had damaged your spine so we had to operate immediately. "

Heiji turned to the medic in his back to give him a worried look, aware of the consequences that could be life-long of the damages in that specific area. He was starting to understand why his legs didn't want to support him when he woke up the first time...

"- Don't move, please." The man scolded. "The wound seems clean... Don't worry, you'll have some difficulties to walk at the beginning but, with re-education, your recuperation should be complete in two months.

\- That long ?!

\- Consider yourself as lucky, a few millimetres further, you probably wouldn't have been able to walk anymore. " The doctor stated as he put a new bandage and the corset on top of it. "And even if I still don't understand how you could get up last night, it's a good sign ... I bet you are the stubborn kind, right ?

\- A bit..." the teen reluctantly admitted as he was putting back his shirt with the medic's help, though he perfectly knew "stubborn" was a feeble word to describe his level of obstinacy.

After a few encouraging functional checks on Heiji's legs, the man walked to the door and opened it at the girls.

"- I give your boyfriend back to you" He winked at Kazuha before leaving.

"-She's not my..." Heiji grumbled, more out of habit than because he thought it.

"- I'm not yer what ?" The green eyed teen pointed with an annoyed face, sitting back near his bed while Ran went to Shinichi's, trying not be implied in what she recognized as an incoming lover's quarrel. "I'm not yer girlfriend, that's it ?

\- Sorry, it was a reflex, I wasn' really thinkin'...

\- Oh, I noticed, yea !

\- I can space out a bit, ok ? I'm not exactly in my best just now with all those drugs..."

The girl calmed down in an instant with a guilty look at the IV in his arm and he saw her shoulders fall and start to shake.

"- Hey, don' cry !

\- It's just... " she sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. " When I heard ya were seriously hurt I was so... I wouldn' have been able ta stand it if ya... now I know ya're also in...

\- Will ya finish at least one of yer sentences, silly girl ?" He smiled at her. "I'm here, the doc' said I was goin' ta be ok, so everythin' good, right ? Now, can I have a smile from my girlfriend ?"

Kazuha rubbed her teary eyes and did his best to show him a smiling face.

"- That's my girl" He softly laughed, taking the hand she had on his bed in his.

* * *

Ran lifted her head at the hospital facade, sighting as once more she entered in that place. She didn't really dislike hospitals but after ten days coming here every afternoon, the reassuring smiles of the nurses no longer helped her to feel welcomed in that asepticized place.

Shinichi's parents had forced her to come back home after a few days, noticing she wasn't eating and sleeping properly and there was no sign the boy would wake soon. She reluctantly accepted, after they proposed her to split the teen's watch in two halves : they would come the morning and she would come after midday and each had to warn the other if anything new.

Her mother, Eri, came back to Kogoro's office to support her, both mentally and in her daily chores – though cooking wasn't really her thing, so Ran could visit the detective she considered as her boyfriend as long as she wished.

The girl opened the door, to notice Shinichi was alone in the room, Heiji's bed being empty. As the Osakan was supposed to stay a whole month in the hospital, she knew he didn't leave so he was probably in a re-education's session. His parents visited him the first week - she remembered with a smile how she had thought they were all so similar in his family, trying to hide their worries behind strong voices and quarrels but she had felt the concern they had for their son behind all the act. Both of them and Kazuha came back to Osaka as they couldn't stay during Heiji's whole hospitalization, so the teen was a bit bored now, though he succeeded to keep his bed in the ICU so he was in the end on "night watch" for his friend. He was also able to speak with Shinichi's parents to have some fresh news and exchanged a lot with Ran, in particular about Shinichi's life as «Conan». If she had any bitterness left, it had been wiped out by those long chats, during which she understood how hurt her friend was to stay by her side without being able to tell her the truth and how desperate he had been to protect her against the formidable opponent that was the BO, even in a 7 years old body.

"- Good afternoon Shinichi", she greeted as she sat near his bed, taking his hand in his.

She had decided she would speak to him normally. It felt strange at the beginning but if there was any chance he would hear her, she wanted to take it.

The girl looked with gentle eyes at his face. The little scratches and cuts from the fall were almost gone, only a small bandage around his head and the plaster around the wrist he broke when it hit the rocks were left. But he was still under respiratory assistance, his chest softly going up and down at each of the moves of the machine near him.

Lulled by the regular beeping of the monitors, Ran's head slightly started to fall, dozing off, but then she jumped when she felt a faint pressure on her hand.

"- Shinichi ?!"

Her eyes watered as she spotted two azure coloured ones on her and she squeezed back his hand, using her free arm to push the "call" button.

"- Don't try to move yet, ok ?" The girl asked him as she felt he was trying to straighten himself." You're safe here, you're in the hospital. A doctor will be coming soon..."

A few moments later, indeed, a doctor came in and gave her an interrogative look.

"- He's awaking !" She smiled, her eyes still shining.

"- That's good news ! " He stated, smiling back at her and approaching to examine the teen. "Do you hear me Shinichi-kun ? Blink your eyes if you do. "

The detective obeyed, a bit disorientated but soothed by Ran's presence.

"- Ok. I'm going to remove the tube in your throat, it won't be a pleasant moment but you'll feel better after, good to you ?" The doctor approached the tube as Shinichi nodded but gave a look at the girl beforehand. "You may want to go out Miss...

\- No, I'll stay" She stated, looking straight at the medic's eyes who nodded in return.

"- Let's do it then"

Ran felt the teen's hand squeezing hers, tensed by the pain of the removal and she gently rubbed it to encourage him.

"- Here you go." The doctor looked into the dark haired teen's throat with a light. " Do you think you can speak ?

\- Y.. " Shinichi cleared his throat for a second attempt. "Yes.

\- Perfect." The man got up to come back with a glass of water and straightened the bed so the detective could drink it. "I'll ask you a few questions, you've hit your head really hard, I need to know if everything is alright. "

After a few more exams, to check both physical and mental consequences of his fall, the doctor gave the teen a bright smile.

"- Everything in encouraging, we'll have to check the evolution but it looks like there were no life-long consequences." He stated. The medic then turned to Ran. "Keep an eye on him, I don't want him to be alone for the moment. I'll warn his parents.

\- Thank you."

"- How are you feeling ? " She asked when the man left.

"- Will do..." Shinichi's voice was coarse, his throat irritated by the tube. "Is it.. over ?

\- Yes" the girl confirmed with a straight face. "It's over. The Organization doesn't exist anymore, everyone has been arrested or were already dead, except Vermouth but she disappeared.

\- Casualties... On our side ?

\- One. Camel-san" She sighted with a sad look. "But I think you were already aware of it ?

\- Yes. " The detective nodded as he remembered.

\- And we almost lost you... You've been in a coma for ten days, Shinichi. " Ran stated, her eyes watering again.

"- I've always been an.. heavy sleeper " He joked but he couldn't hide the surprise in his look at the information.

"- Shinichi... " The dark haired girl called with determined eyes. " Sorry, this place isn't nearly as romantic than Big Ben but, I'm going to answer you now."

Shinichi gave her an embarrassed face, feeling butterflies in his stomach as he expected her answer.

"- Close your eyes" she gently commanded and he did as asked.

The teen's eyes shot opened as she pinched his forehead.

"- What ?!

\- Keep your eyes shut ! " She ordered. "That was for all the times in the bathroom with you as Conan." The girl scolded with a small smile and, as he obeyed to her once again, Shinichi had a small guilty pang at the memories. "And that's for me."

The dark haired girl bent to his bed, softly taking her beloved man's lips, and with that move, she felt all the feelings she bottled in herself the last ten days at least, the last six months maybe were released and started to cry.

"- Ran ? " Shinichi asked with a concerned look, opening his eyes when he felt her tears and putting his valid hand on her cheek. " Do I kiss that bad ?" He decided to ask, feeling humour was probably the best way to calm the girl.

Half giggling, half crying, the teen took his hand and hold it against her face.

"- That's not it, Baka" she sobbed. "it's just... I can't believe it's over, after all this time waiting for you, worrying never to see you again... When we found you back there I was so afraid I'd never be able to answer you...

\- Don't cry." Shinichi gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his hand. "Everything is over now... I'll never leave you again."

As Ran lost herself in his azure eyes once again, he drew her face to him and they shared another kiss, both feeling whole at last.

* * *

**June, the 21rst**

* * *

"- To Kaito's birthday !" Aoko's voice joyfully cheered, looking at her neighbour.

"- An' ta the end o' Heiji's re-education !" Kazuha added with a smile at her beloved.

"- An' the fact Kudô has all his brain back.. apparently... well that's what the doc says but I'm not sure..." The Osakien taunted his best friend with a smirk.

"- Heiji !" the green-eyed girl scolded.

"- Ba'arou..." Shinichi gave him an unimpressed look.

"- Kampai ! " They all cheered.

The seven friends were sitting on a blanket on the grass, in a park, several bento boxes scattered in front of them and each had a glass in the hand.

A month had passed and, with the last wounded finally out of the hospital, Aoko had wanted to organize a little something for Kaito's birthday and called everyone to mark the occasion.

Kazuha gave a rough time to Heiji until he spilled the whole story, starting by the explanation of that mystery that was "Conan". She frozed a little while when he told her, as she needed to process the information. Then, her face turned worried and uncomfortable when she tried to remember if she could find any embarrassing moments she shared with the boy, thinking he was just a kid. Apparently, she found some, as Shinichi had to avoid an Aikido throw when she met him after she learnt the truth, under Ran's amused face and the girl did absolutely nothing to stop her friend, understanding her reaction.

Shinichi and Heiji kept silent Kaito's hidden identity : it was complicated to imply their respective girlfriends to what was, even with good reasons, still a crime. The official story was that Kaito and Saguru were obsessed in catching the Kid and Aoko was supporting them.

Kaito cleared his throat, excited like a little boy on a Christmas morning at the pile of presents in front of him.

"- Can I ?

\- Of course, everything is for you !" Aoko smiled.

Taking the closest present, he gave a startled look at the pair of handcuffs he discovered.

"- Cuffs ?

\- Fer yer nighty occupations maybe ? " Heiji chuckled. He then turned to the blond-haired who was sitting just near the Kid. "Was it you Hakuba ? But the fur is missin'...

\- Yes it is from me and nope, the _fur_ isn't missing, as you say : it's just the most recent model in the MPD " Saguru stated, ignoring the insinuation. He turned back to the Thief and whispered to him "So you'll have some training before I put mine around your wrists.

\- Haha... " The Thief stated with a forced smile.

"- But ya still whisper in each other's ears... When a detective an' a t... magician aren' supposed ta get along well... " Heiji taunted, stopping himself at the last minute as he almost said the word "thief".

Shinichi rolled his eyes. After six months of "Ku... Conan", the new challenge would be to stop his best friend to slip Kaito's identity... There was nothing to do to change that Osakan ! Well, at least, he did seem guilty.

"- Ah ? " Ran asked, wondering a bit. "Detectives and magicians don't get along ?

\- No, because we see through all their little tricks" Saguru explained to cover Heiji's blunder.

"- And it ruins the show... Well, that's only if you succeed to see through... " Kaito concluded with a provocative smirk.

The hero of the day turned back to his present and decided to play it safe for the next. Spotting the reassuring form of a book, he opened the parcel.

" - Hmm, Conan Doyle ? I already opened Saguru's present so no need to ask where that one is coming from..." He gave a dull look at Shinichi who was widely smiling at him.

"- That's the only conceivable present for a birthday, of course !" His eyes were shining, not noticing everyone, except Saguru who was sharing his passion, was looking at him with embarrass at such this high level of fanatic love for Doyle's character. "Be thankful, I'm giving you tips on how detectives think ! It will help you trick better your... _public_ " Shinichi smirked, full of allusions, with his old childish expression.

"- Eh, for Kami's sake, stop that smile, you're so ... _kid_-like with that... " The Thief had a chill as he saw the teen with that same smirk "Conan" had on his face every time before he was going to kick a high speed soccer ball to him.

The dark-haired detective giggled, understanding that 'kid' was referring to his previous shrunken form, but had the decency to come back to a non-grinning expression. The Kid sighted with relief, turning once again to his presents.

"- Oy, oy, a plushie ? Who the hell gave me a plushie ?" Kaito wondered as he revealed a white shape out of the third wrapping he chose.

"- Look at it mor' closely, it's a Kaitou Kid plush." The dark-skinned detective Osakan pointed." They are sellin' them in Osaka.

\- Now you mention it... Is Kaitou Kid that famous in your country, detective of Naniwa?" The Thief asked with an arrogant smile. "The first cool present of the day, thank you !"

He stuck his tongue at the two other detectives' glares.

"- No need" Heiji shrugged."I took it because ya can remove the hat an' the face under was ugly with its moustache, so it amused me. Ya'll tell us if that's ressemblin' when ya'll catch him with Hakuba an' yer girlfriend's father." He added with a smirk.

"- I agree, it's quite ugly… " the inspector's daughter giggled when she removed the white silk hat of the plush she took from his friend.

\- Okaaay... So no one told me but my 17th birthday's theme was "how to troll Kuroba Kaito" ?" He gave a bored look to everyone around him.

"- Come on, Kaito, it's just we all like to tease you, it's a mark of affection !" Aoko laughed, nudging him.

"- You know what I would prefer as a 'mark of affection'... ? " He gave her a slightly perverted smile.

"- Are you going to snog again ?" Hakuba gave a disgusted look at both of them.

"- Jealous ? " the Thief snapped back to hide his disappointment when the girl moved away from him, a bit blushing.

"-Oh, that's what you meant when you said you would "support him" in his chase of the Kaitou Kid..." Ran gave the girl a malicious smile.

"- Oh, not you too, please... " Aoko asked with an embarrassed pledging face.

"- Better stop, yes, because we all promised we would support him when possible" Heiji pointed out." An' I didn' agree ta this kind of support...

\- No ? Come on, just a little kiss ! Would it be easier to you if I disguise myself as Kazuha-san ?" He winked lasciviously at the Osakan.

"- Hey, no ! " The said-girl opposed, with a protective hand on her boyfriend's chest.

"- Kazuha, he's joking... " Shinichi explained, laughing at the thought.

"- He is ? " She raised a brow, a bit lost.

"- I am ?" Kaito added with a feigned surprise. "I may turn into guys you know, to understand how the Kid thinks. Aoko once said Kaitou Kid was probably gay...

\- I didn't...

\- ... Well, there shouldn't be a big difference compared to now, with my tomboy of a girlfriend..." He smirked, getting up as he knew he'll soon have to flee a mop or whatever item the girl would find.

"- Kaitoooooo !"

They all laughed together at Aoko running after the Thief, armed with the book Shinichi just offered, chasing Kaito around the park.

"- Hey, not the Sherlock ! " Shinichi complained with an indignant face when he recognized the item she was holding.

Another happy day passed, more were to go : the adventures of our four geniuses aren't over, far away from that, their friendships is just beginning.

But that is another story.

* * *

**Sooo I thought I might add a sequel to this story with a fight with the MKO... 4 boys again of course ! But it's just a project...**

**Tell me if you're interested !**

**Thanks for flying with TiLi Airlines, hope you enjoyed the flight ; )**


	28. Chapter 28 - 10 years later

**Wow, so many reviews for the last 'true chapter', thanks :D**

**So today is a small epilogue, focusing on Vermouth's story as some questions were left unanswered to in the fic, I had fun theorizing some ideas ; )**

**I also started a new fic (not published yet and not related to that one) and I think that, after finishing that new one, I may give a try to write a sequel for this story : ) You'll hear from me soon !**

**Have fun reading, thanks for coming ^_^**

**o.O.o**

**Emyasmina : See ? I'm not that much of a bad girl ^^**

**Ctopher : Noted ! I'll do my best to entertain you ; )**

**Great : Thanks ! And well noted also : ) **

**Mystery0028 : Noted ! ^^**

**SilverSapphire34523 : This should just be a good bye, not an adieu : )**

**Giotto27 : Thanks for you enthusiasm, hope you liked the rest as your reviews were for the earlier chapters^^**

**Reader : haha, this was a long trip after all, I started publishing at the beginning of the year^^; Any time, I also had a lot of fun to write this and hope I'll have enough good ideas to provide a suitable sequel. See you pretty soon :D**

* * *

**Extra chapter : 10 years later**

* * *

Shiho was having a cup of coffee on a terrace, in New-York. She liked that little pause she allowed herself every day, just after work, before going home. Her husband being workaholic, she needed to spend some time, bathed in a crowd of people before coming back to their empty apartment. She put her cup back on the small plate with an annoyed sigh when a blond-haired woman, about her age, in her thirties, pulled the chair in front of her and settled down, removing her hat. Shiho lifted her eyes to look at the unwelcome woman and had, for an instant, a startled look before calming down.

"- Still not ageing, from what I see, Vermouth ? I was wondering when you'll be coming to me...

\- You weren't exactly easy find, Sherry." the woman smiled. "You moved a lot around before settling here. Not really a smart idea to come back to a place you lived in before, by the way.

\- I guess I had some nostalgia of that town, I used to study here... And I wanted to follow Akai. So it wasn't a bad option." The scientist took another slurp from her coffee.

"- Congratulation for your wedding by the way, after what happened with your sister, I wouldn't think you'd dare... " Vermouth smirked at her.

\- We both stayed alone for too long. It was time to do something about it..." Shiho put her cup on the table and looked in the woman's eyes. " So ? Not that I'm not interested in our little chat but where are we going ? Going to shoot me in the middle of a crowded street ?

\- You know I'm more refined than that... " She softly laughed. " And after everything Cool guy did to save my life, that wouldn't really be respectful.

\- It didn't use to matter to you before." The scientist pointed with a straight face. " So you're just here to speak of the good old days ?

\- I'd like you to listen to my story. Nothing more, nothing else." The former actress lighted up a cigarette and looked at Shiho, who had crossed her arms on her chest.

"- I'm all ears."

* * *

Immortality had always been a quest for mankind, driven by the fear of death. Some men approached it more than the others. Jonathan Wild, scientist, was part of those. The man was obsessed with a life with death or aging or diseases. And the fact his wife, mother of their 2 daughters, was touched by a incurable illness didn't help.

His younger girl, Elena, was gifted with his genius and, also interested in the subject, helped him with his researches, as soon as she was able to hold a test tube. The oldest, Eva, ugly duckling of the family as she had no talent in sciences, turned into crime, as a rebellion for the lack of consideration toward her.

By that, she wasn't that different from her relatives : her father's researches were sponsorized by a syndicate, for which he was developing drugs in exchange to full access to the expensive equipment he could need for his hobby. As he was desperate and not so fond of the so-told justice that was taking his beloved wife away, he didn't mind turning into a dealer to continue his work.

In that organization, he found someone who shared his obsession, a kind of archaeologist, though the term "tomb raider" should have been more appropriate. The man used to travel around the world and bring back anything related to the legends of immortality he could find to Wild, so he could analyse it.

After years of searching, that friend finally got his hand on what was called 'Pandora's tear' by the locals, as he was investigating about the legend of the fountain of youth and its relation with the Volley comet.

He "borrowed" the sealed metal box containing the tear and the scientist, analysing the small drop inside, determined it was indeed very probably a substance that could at least have an anti-aging effect and bring a long life, perhaps even immortality. He succeeded in creating one pill, unable to synthesize the molecule to make more of them.

He was finishing the last steps of its elaboration when his oldest girl decided one night to break into the lab and to destroy anything she could find, pissed off by the fact her mother was living her last moments and her father was in the lab instead of holding her dying hand. Alerted by the noise as he slept upstairs, his father came in at the moment she found his precious pill and, out of bravado when she spotted his horrified face, not even knowing if it wasn't a deadly poison, the girl swallowed the pill, looking straight into his eyes, and fainted.

Three days later, she woke up, tied on a bed, her young sister bent above her, holding a syringe. Their mother died the previous night but their father decided to keep searching for immortality. And, as she swallowed his only pill, Eva was the closest being to it. At last, she could be able to help in the family's research but as a guinea pig, like those orphan kids they sometimes used.

Time passed. Wild continued his work and finally ended as head of the Organization he belonged to thanks to all the money he won with the drugs he developed. Having some differences in opinion with him, his archaeologist friend grounded his own syndicate with the money from his raids and was still looking for Pandora, as he determined it was a jewel that would emit, under specific conditions, the "Tear" he once brought to Wild.

After a while, it was obvious Eva wasn't ageing any more, though illness and wounds could still put her life at risk. Being a precious test subject, she was secluded the most possible but, with years of pleading and the fact his research on her were at a standstill, she succeeded in convincing her father to give her a certain amount of freedom. She did her best with some make up to age herself but it was clear her abilities were limited so, after 20 years, she went to learn disguises trick that would dissimulate her lack of changes from a great magician, Kuroba Tôichi. Being now able to take whatever face she wanted, she used her new talent for the Organization, against even more freedom.

On her side, Elena married a scientist who supported her on her research. She still found some time to have 2 daughters. Of the family, only one daughter is alive today.

* * *

" - Are you trying to tell me this is my family's story ?" Shiho asked with a bewildered look at the blond-haired

"- Not yours. Ours. My real name is Eva Wild. Wondered why I didn't age ? That's the reason. I turned 70 years old last year.

\- That's..." The scientist couldn't finish her sentence as she thought about the implications of what she heard.

"- ...Much more efficient than the pale imitation my sister created, the apotoxin, isn't it ? And my scientist of a father... your grand father was the BO's boss. Ever wondered why you're so good with science ? Hereditary, my girl.

\- If we are blood related, why want to kill me ?

\- I wanted those researches to stop..." Vermouth sighted. "There are been enough deaths, enough horrors, the work on this substance had to end and you were the only one who could have taken up the torch. The names Miyano and Wild would also have opened some doors in the scientific community... But from what I saw the last few days, you're just working in a classic pharmaceutical company.

\- Yea, killing people wasn't my style in the end." Shiho smirked ironically.

"- So this story I told you was just for you to remind. If one day you want to change your mind, please note that I'll find you, again. And it won't be for a little chat"

Chris Vineyard got up, putting back her hat on her head and slowly walked away, disappearing in the crowd.

* * *

**Jonathan Wild = Conan Doyle's Moriarty was probably inspired by this man : seen as a hero, he was in fact directing an important underground business.**


End file.
